Officials with the City of Laval say they are greatly pleased with the First Responder service Laval first implemented a year ago.
Since May 16 last year, 280 firefighters working out of the city’s nine firehalls began offering First Responder service, complementing emergency medical services also offered by Urgences-Santé ambulance crews.
The firefighters have been certified as First Responders in accordance with norms maintained by the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Since last year, they have been able to provide emergency response in medical situations involving cardiopulmonary arrest, anaphylactic shock and opioid overdoses, resulting in saved lives over that period.
“I would like to warmly thank the firefighters from Laval for this first year during which they served as First Responders,” said Mayor Stéphane Boyer.
“The integration of the firefighting service with First Responders brought about many changes in the work of our intervenors,” he continued. “But they showed themselves remarkably capable of adapting, which led to reduced fatalities in the population of Laval, while also improving the quality of life of citizens. With this new role, the firefighters are contributing to saving even more lives.”
With their new responsibilities, Laval’s First Responders are arriving at the scene of emergency medical incidents in a little more than five minutes. This, according to the city, is twice as fast as ambulance crews for the same type of intervention.
While acknowledging that it will take from three to five years longer to know the full impact of the new service, the city’s initial estimate is that 1,561 interventions have been made by Laval’s First Responders so far.
According to the stats, Laval’s First Responders made 110 interventions for medical situations which were considered potentially life-threatening, but which were stabilized thanks to their actions.
As well, they dealt with 22 situations involving respiratory problems because of opioid overdoses, and 76 interventions involving people having serious allergic reactions. Laval is among the first major cities in Quebec to implement First Responder service through its firefighters to Level One (PR-1).
City of Laval wins highest distinction in élixir de PMI-Montréal competition
The City of Laval won the award for Project of the Year in urban planning in the élixir PMI-Montréal competition, which recognizes excellence in project management. The award was presented during the Gala Élixir held in Montreal on May 9.
Award for Laval’s communications and marketing team
The City of Laval’s communications and marketing team also was the recipient of an award recently: the Gold Quill Award of Merit, presented by the International Association of Business Communicators(IABC).
The award recognized the team’s excellence in communications strategy on an international scale. It was presented in recognition of the City of Laval’s development of a digital “one stop shop” for managers to use while working in hybrid mode.
“This award attests to the ongoing commitment of our employees, most notably in the communications and marketing department, to come up with quality, innovative and practical solutions which answer to the needs of the organization,” said Mayor Stéphane Boyer. “We are honoured to have received this world-class recognition which highlights the passion and devotion of our teams, who are always working towards improvement, for the employees and for the citizens.”
