Riding with North Shore FD

     I would like to thank Lt. Steve Mode and the North Shore Fire Department in Milwaukee County, WI, for the opportunity to ride with them last month.

     My "tour guides" for this trip were Gary Hoelzel and Paul Lange, both experienced paramedics who have been chosen by Milwaukee County EMS and the Medical College of Wisconsin to implement prehospital dextran and GIK infusions on an experimental basis.

     Interestingly, the North Shore system was reorganized in 1994 after an objective look revealed significant duplication between seven area fire departments. There were three career fire departments, two combination career/paid-on-call operated under the public safety concept (police supplemented by on-call firefighters), and two fully implemented public safety departments serving a total area of less than 30 square miles with 68,000 residents.

     Under the consolidated plan, fire commissioners are appointed by the elected leader of each community and each of the seven communities has an equal representation on the commission. The consolidation brought unified command, training, operational philosophy, equipment procedures, rules and regulations, legal services, commission recruitment and vehicle maintenance to the system, and reduced the rolling stock by 17, now down to 24 (five engines, two ladder trucks, two water tenders, three BLS units, two ALS units, two spare engines, one command unit and seven cars).

     Thanks for your time, guys!