Temple Terrace Fire Department Wins Statewide Competition

Three members of the represented the city and sharpened their emergency skills Tuesday during a statewide Advance Life Support competition where they won first place.

The team consisted of , Capt./Paramedic Carl Sullivan, and Engineer/Paramedic Chris Ashley.

“Our team has competed many times,” Chapman said in a city press release. “It not only represents the city well, but it’s also a terrific educational tool. You don’t get much better training than this, where you’re having to deal with real-life situations.”

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Tuesday’s ShandsCair Critical Care ALS Competition was the first hosted by Shandscair, the emergency medical helicopter service of the University of Florida’s Shands Hospital located in Gainesville. The event took place at Gainesville’s Santa Fe Community College, and eight fire rescue organizations participated, according to the release.

“The event helps kicks off EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week,” explained Temple Terrace Assistant Fire Chief Ian Kemp. The week honors first responders who provide life-saving services and runs May 20-26 this year.

During the competition, firefighters and paramedics participated in various fire-rescue scenarios, the release states. In one scenario, personnel responded to a multiple-bicycle accident that resulted in serious injuries to the riders. A second scenario involved a diabetic ambulance driver, who passed out and crashed into a crowd of people at a city park, resulting in deaths and critical injuries.

According to a story on The Gainesville Sun’s GatorSports.com, teams were judged on their speed and accuracy, and they received points for checking pulses, properly assessing injuries, clearing airways and treating victims appropriately.

The Temple Terrace Fire Department will host its own ALS competition in August, with 16 teams from around the state expected to compete, according to the release.

Until then, they’ll enjoy the bragging rights they earned Tuesday.

“And, it’s always nice to win,” Chapman said in the release.