TUCSON, Ariz. - Two fire districts in southern Arizona will become the first in the area to put to use new methods to help sick or injured children.
Golder Ranch Fire and Northwest Fire District's firefighters will train to use the Handtevy Pediatric Emergency Standards.
The standards will allow for firefighters to act quicker and more efficiently when it comes to treating the smallest patients.
"As we're even en route to the call the dispatchers are giving up information that we have a little one on scene that's having trouble breathing, they can give us the age so we know that they are five years old so know we can use all our Handtevy information to dose out medication even before we get on scene," said Adam Jarrold, with the Golder Ranch Fire District.
In the past firefighters made decisions for treatment based on the weight of the child, but with the standards, firefighters will now get the age of the child and then make treatment decisions based off the weight range that child can be.
Firefighters hope the standards help better treat the children they come across as well as add a bit more calm to what is typically a chaotic time.
"A lot of us have young children at home and we recognize out children in those patients so it just adds to the stress of the environment so having these tools just makes it easier to be confident in treating these patients," said Jarrold.
