House OKs on 2nd reading bill requiring firefighters to be certified medical first responders, EMT

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on second reading a bill requiring firefighters to be certified medical first responders and emergency medical technicians (EMT).

House Bill 6512 seeks to amend the Bureau of Fire Protection Modernization law.

It defines emergency medical technician as a trained and certified pre-hospital emergency care provider who is capable of performing extensive pre-hospital care, endotracheal intubations and cardiopulmonary resuscitation  administering medications orally and intravenously, and using automated external defibrillator and other complex emergency medical equipment.

Specifically, House Bill 6512 requires a newly-appointed Fire Officer or FO1 to undergo and complete the Fire Basic Recruit Course (FBRC) which provides fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to meet the minimum standards of fire personnel competence, including advanced first aid and emergency first response.

Likewise, the bill requires BFP personnel designated as fire station emergency medical technicians to be duly certified as emergency medical technician in addition to their training and certification as medical first responder.

In addition, the bill states that firefighters who are already in the service as of December 31, 2022 will be given five years to obtain the minimum certification requirement as medical first responder.

The bill provides that the BFP  will shoulder the EMT training expenses and fees for those who are already in the service.

The proposed measure requiring certification as medical first responder or as emergency  medical technician, however, does not cover those BFP personnel who have rendered more than 15 years of service as of December 31, 2022.

“This [bill is] to strengthen the mandate of the BFP in providing emergency medical and rescue services by ensuring the operational readiness of the emergency medical services team on duty,” the committee report on the measure read.—AOL, GMA Integrated News