Temple Terrace Fire Department Places Fifth In International Competition

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The Temple Terrace Fire Department revealed this week why it is one of the best in the country, placing fifth in the Bill Shearer International ALS/BLS Competition.

Nearly 50 fire departments and emergency medical crews participated in the competition, held June 29-30 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando. The annual event is sponsored by the Orlando-based Emergency Medicine Learning & Resource Center.

The Advanced Life Support and Basic Life Support competition requires paramedics and firefighters to compete in mock fire-rescue scenarios, which are designed to be as realistic as possible. Firefighters and paramedics are graded on how well they respond and perform in each scenario.

In this year's finals, firefighters and paramedics were faced with a public protest involving an altercation between protestors and police. There were numerous "injuries" to those involved, which required quick thinking and the appropriate response by emergency personnel.

The Temple Terrace Fire Department has always performed well in ALS competitions, and this showing means a lot, said Temple Terrace Fire Chief Keith Chapman.

"This is the first time we've placed in the top five in an international competition, so it's a big deal for us," he said. "There's competition from around the world."

Temple Terrace's team is sponsored by the Temple Terrace Professional Firefighters (Local 3582), which raised donations from the community to cover the City's participation. The fire department also raises money by hosting its own ALS competitions.

Temple Terrace's team included Capt/Paramedic Carl Sullivan, Engineer/Paramedic Mike Schaer, Engineer/Paramedic David Samon and Firefighter/Paramedic Chris Ashley.

Lee County Emergency Medical Services won the competition, coming in first place.


Author:Temple Terrace Fire Department Press Release