Among the Oil Fields

     Odessa, Tex., is a place where the sand flies, the wind blows, and everything is flat. Look across the flatlands, and you'll see West Texas' bread and butter: the oil fields. The area has relied on petroleum for more than a century as its chief industry.

     As certain as the oil fields are to West Texas, even more certain are the efforts of Odessa Fire/EMS (OFD). Using advanced technologies in the hands of aggressive, highly trained firefighters and paramedics, the department saves lives and property every day, even against such harsh and challenging backdrops.

Onboard Sonography
     For several years, Odessa Fire/EMS has had sonographic diagnostic capabilities in each of its paramedic ambulances. This occurred largely through the efforts of Dave Spear, MD, medical director for the department, Odessa's Medical Center Hospital and the entire Big Bend region of Texas. Spear is an aggressive emergency physician, and deploying sonograms on board working ambulances was his brainchild. As the specialized mobile sonography equipment became available, OFD's ambulances were outfitted with it, and paramedics were trained in its use.

     Fielding such diagnostic capabilities on the ambulance has been so effective that Spear and four Odessa paramedics were invited to an international sonogram symposium in France. As well, Spear is preparing a paper on the project. Since the group's return, a number of other departments across the country have expressed interest in onboard sonographic diagnostics. It was recently announced that the Fire Department of New York and Minneapolis Fire Department would be working closely with Spear and OFD on programs of their own.

Specialty Care
     OFD's innovations didn't stop with the sonography. The department has also implemented adult intraosseous drug administration and added a new computerized tablet reporting system.

     With the extraction of oil comes many hazards to oil field workers, and so another specialty of the department, according to Battalion Chief Kavin Tinney, is in fighting oil field and tank battery fires and responding to other oil field incidents. OFD personnel receive special training for this. Because most oil field incidents are in remote areas, the department relies heavily on the services of Medical Center Hospital's CareStar EMS helicopter.

     Relatedly, the service has a large hazmat unit that's capable of handling not only local incidents, especially at Odessa's large petrochemical facilities, but of providing mutual aid to outlying counties and communities. It's a regional resource. Recently the unit was called into action to assist in Pecos, about 90 miles west of Odessa, when a multiagency task force raided a large methamphetamine lab.

     Along with the hazmat unit, OFD recently instituted an Incident Management Team. Like the hazmat unit, the team can operate regionwide. It is composed of Capts. Bobby Valles and Tanner Drake, Senior Capt.Darrell Johnston and Assistant Chief for Administration John Alvarez.

     Along with the hazmat unit and the Incident Management Team, Tinney says the Battalion Chief's truck is also instrumental at oil field and other hazardous incidents, as it has a communications system capable of communicating within a 17-county radius. The truck is also used as a command post. Its onboard computers have CAD capabilities, and the truck has an elevating light tower. The department recently added a heavy rescue truck to complement the work of the hazmat unit and for use in industrial and oil field incidents.

     OFD also recently announced new hiring practices. Until now firefighter recruits had been required to successfully complete an accredited fire training academy, such as the Fire/EMS Academy at Odessa College. Under the department's new guidelines, certified paramedics without previous firefighting training can be hired, with OFD providing remaining training for new recruits.

Conclusion
     A department's capabilities must reflect its own unique geography and circumstances. With the oil industry so critical to West Texas, Odessa Fire/EMS has developed its rescue and response capabilities accordingly. By aggressively acquiring the equipment and resources to answer its local challenges, and thoroughly training its personnel to utilize them, the OFD provides quality emergency services to its constituents.

Edward (Skip) Goulet has been active in EMS since 1960. He is President Emeritus of Metro-Alert Ambulance of Lubbock, TX, and past president and a charter member of the West Carlisle Volunteer Fire Department. From 2002–2005, he owned MetroMed Ambulance in Midland.