Definitions
Advanced Life Support (ALS)
Advanced level of medical care provided by paramedics. Key components of ALS include advanced airway management techniques to establish and maintain a patient's airway. ALS providers are proficient in intravenous (IV) access and can administer various medications, including cardiac drugs, pain relief medications, or medications to manage allergic reactions, through IV lines. ALS providers are trained in cardiac monitoring and defibrillation, allowing them to interpret cardiac rhythms, perform electrocardiograms (ECGs), and utilize defibrillators to deliver electrical shocks when necessary to restore normal heart rhythms.
Automatic Aid
A plan developed between two or more fire departments for an immediate joint response on first alarms.
Basic Life Support (BLS)
Basic Life Support (BLS) refers to essential emergency medical care provided by Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to individuals experiencing cardiac arrest, respiratory distress, or other life-threatening situations. BLS techniques include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), and basic airway management to ensure oxygenation and circulation until more advanced medical help arrives.
Company
A group of members: (1) under the direct supervision of an officer; (2) trained and equipped to perform assigned tasks; (3) usually organized and identified as engine companies, ladder companies, rescue companies, squad companies, or multi-functional companies; (4) operating with one piece of fire apparatus (pumper, aerial fire apparatus, elevating platform, quint, rescue, squad, ambulance) except where multiple apparatus are assigned that are dispatched and arrive together, continuously operate together, and are managed by a single company officer; (5) arriving at the incident scene on fire apparatus.
Engine/ Pumper
Fire apparatus with a permanently mounted fire pump of at least 750 gallons per minute capacity (gpm), water tank, and hose body whose primary purpose is to combat structural and associated fires.
GPM
Gallons Per Minute (A standard handheld fire hose delivers between 150 and 165 gpm)
Mutual Aid
A written intergovernmental agreement between agencies and/or jurisdictions that they will assist one another on request by furnishing personnel, equipment, and/or expertise in a specified manner.
Rapid Intervention Team (RIT)
A designated crew that will serve as a stand-by rescue team for personnel and be available for the immediate search and rescue of any missing, trapped, injured or unaccounted for firefighter(s).
Suburban
An incorporated or unincorporated area with a population between 500 and 1,000 people per square mile. Branford has a population of 1,285 per square mile
Truck Company
A group of firefighters who work as a unit and are equipped with one or more pieces of aerial fire apparatus.
Urban
An incorporated or unincorporated area with a population of over 30,000 people and/or a population density over 1,000 people per square mile but less than 2,999. Branford has a population of 1,285 per square mile