Tulsa Firefighers Kept Busy with 'Lift Assists'

Jan. 5--As the population gets older and fatter, firefighters are spending more time doing heavy lifting than battling blazes.

Every day, firefighters are called out on "lift assists," a term that can mean that someone has fallen and can't get up or that ambulance workers need help with a patient who is obese.

Wednesday was no exception. A Tulsa woman had gone into her home's bathroom but had fallen off her mobility scooter and had become trapped, Fire Capt. Larry Bowles said.

Firefighters had a difficult time getting into the room because the scooter was against the door, but they eventually were able to assist the woman, Bowles said.

Of the 54,866 calls the Tulsa Fire Department received last year, only 5 percent were for structure fires. The majority, 75 percent, were emergency medical calls, Bowles said.

Lift-assist calls are not uncommon, he said.

"We get calls to assist elderly people who have fallen every evening," he said.

Bowles said firefighters are called for lift assists because four to five of them usually are assigned to each truck, so they generally have the muscle to do the job.

Additionally, many firetrucks have a paramedic aboard in case of a medical emergency, and firefighters have special tools for lifting, such as the Mega Mover, which can lift patients weighing as much as 1,500 pounds, Bowles said.

Two to three paramedics and/or emergency medical technicians are assigned to each ambulance, and a determination about whether to call the Fire Department for a lift assist depends heavily on the circumstances, said Tina Wells, director of community relations for the Emergency Medical Services Authority in Tulsa.

"We call first responders (firefighters) when it's an issue of safety for the medics, safety of the patient or dignity of the patient," Wells said. "If you can't accomplish all of those, then there's a need to call for help."

Wells said veteran ambulance workers have told her they are seeing more and more obese patients. Some ambulance services in other parts of the country have purchased bariatric ambulances for severely obese patients, she said.

"Transporting a patient who weighs over 700 pounds is not something you do every day," Wells said. "But you do it more and more. You do it every other week, just about."

All cots used by EMSA are rated to lift as much as 650 pounds, and Stair-Pro units, used to transport patients down flights of stairs, are rated to carry as much as 500 pounds, Wells said.

All ambulance emergency workers must be able to lift at least 75 pounds repetitively, she said.

The decision to call for assistance often depends on the circumstances of the call rather than just the weight of the patient, Wells said.

Two paramedics lifting a 250-pound patient in an open area with a clear path to the ambulance probably would not require assistance, whereas two paramedics lifting a 250-pound patient in a small, cramped area and attempting to maneuver through a narrow, winding hall probably would have to call for help, she said.

"It's not just a number. You can't say, 'If a patient weighs over 200 pounds, I need a lift assist,' " Wells said.

The aging of the baby-boomer generation is another factor in the increasing number of lift-assist calls, she said.

"We're seeing a significant increase in volume (of calls) each year that is directly attributed to the aging of the population," she said.

Bowles said that although some residents "abuse the system" by calling for help when they could take care of themselves, "most don't, and most are people that genuinely need help."

Firefighters watch for numerous calls for lift assists from the same location, a possible sign that the person shouldn't be living alone, he said.

Before reporting to the Department of Human Services that a person seems to be unable to live alone, however, Fire Department officials usually contact the person's family members or recommend in-home or assisted-living care, Bowles said.