DeFuniak Fire applies for ALS license to address increased call volume, transport times

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — City firefighters will soon be able to provide life-saving treatments to patients before a Walton County ambulance arrives at the scene.

DeFuniak Springs Fire Chief Ross Sheffield anticipates that by Oct. 1 the Fire Department will have approval from the state of Florida to begin offering Advanced Life Support (ALS) services.

Sheffield said he almost immediately saw a need for ALS services in the city when he took over as chief in 2020. All firefighters are trained as paramedics or EMTs, with about 70% of the department's calls being medical-related.

Sheffield said firefighters commonly encounter people who are diabetic, having breathing issues or chest pains. However, they have been limited on what they can do before an ambulance arrives.

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“We had trained personnel on the scene, but we did not have a license from the state of Florida to actually do any treatment on the patient,” Sheffield said. “We could assess the patient and find out what’s going on, but that’s as far as we can go; just taking blood pressures and things of that nature.”

The Fire Department began taking steps to “provide a better service" about a year ago. That work culminated last Tuesday when Sheffield went before the Walton County Board of County Commissioners to request a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

The certificate allows the department to apply for an Advanced Life Support Non-Transport Providers License. County commissioners approved his request, and now Sheffield said the Fire Department is just awaiting approval from the state.

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The DeFuniak Springs Fire Department will be the third agency certified to provide ALS services in Walton County. The South Walton Fire District and Walton County Fire Rescue also are providers.

Sheffield said factors such as an increasing call volume have made it necessary for DeFuniak Springs firefighters to provide ALS services.

The extended closure of the emergency room at the Healthmark Regional Medical Center also has put a strain on first responders, who now have to transport patients lengthy distances.

Since the emergency room closed March 18, the number of out-of-county ambulance transports in the Walton County Fire Rescue’s service zone that includes DeFuniak Springs has jumped 81%, Sheriff Mike Adkinson told the Daily News in July.

Patients who would have been taken to Healthmark Regional are now being taken as far as North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview and HCA Fort Walton-Destin Hospital in Fort Walton Beach. Each trip takes an ambulance out of service for about two hours.

“Right now the closest hospital is Crestview, which is 31 miles away,” Sheffield said. “The county is seeing an increase in the time they’re out of service and transporting the patients to the closest hospital, or even to Fort Walton Beach.”

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Meanwhile, the DFSFD's call volume has more than doubled. In 2020, firefighters responded to 811 calls. There were 1,624 calls in 2021, and by the end of June, Sheffield said firefighters had already responded to 924 calls this year.

“So we made more calls this year in six months than we did the entire year of 2020,” he said. “My forecast for next year is we’re going to be over 2,050 calls. This is not without the big growth spurt that we’re seeing like on the south end of town.”

Future growth from new businesses and housing developments such as Bay Springs, Pinehurst Estates and Hunters Ridge is expected to drive more emergency calls.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the population of DeFuniak Springs was estimated at 6,283 in July 2021. About 15.5% of the population is 65 years or older, and the Fire Department has seen an increase in medical calls among the elderly population.

The ALS license will allow firefighters to administer medications, perform an EKG to check for different heart conditions, and perform other heart-related procedures such as cardioversion, a procedure that restores regular heart rhythm and pacing.

“It would reduce their suffering, especially with our patients that go into cardiac arrest,” Sheffield said. “Instead of just doing CPR, we can also give them medications, and we can defibrillate that patient with a monitor. It gives them a greater likelihood that they will survive.”

All DeFuniak Springs firefighters are certified as paramedics or EMTs every two years, meaning they will not have to take on any additional training. Sheffield said he is in the process of hiring a medical director and plans to hire two additional paramedics.

“The service will be a great benefit to our citizens and provide them with rapid, reliable Advanced Life Support services that will be inside the city limits of DeFuniak Springs,” Sheffield said. “It’s a service that’s much needed in the city."

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: DeFuniak Springs firefighters to provide Advanced Life Support services