Gloucester police and firefighters could use more formal training when it comes to working together at the scene of emergencies, police officials said this week.
The recommendation stems from an early-morning fire at 22 Witham St. on Monday, which sent Karen Mikulka to Beverly Hospital for treatment of burns and smoke inhalation.
In a police report, police say firefighters - particularly deputy Chief Miles Schlichte - were uncooperative in helping police treat Mikulka after she was removed from the building. Schlichte, however, said firefighters were following standard protocol and could not leave the building until the fire was contained.
Neither department has a training program for how the other department uses its personnel and equipment at an emergency, which highlights the need, some say, for cooperative training.
"There should be, it's an excellent point," said police Lt. Kathleen Auld, who runs the Police Department's training programs. "Generally speaking, what we learn is through trial and error, and experience."
Schlichte said there is no Fire Department program that details what police duties and responsibilities at a fire scene are. But, he added, most police officers have responded to enough fires that they should know what Fire Department medics have to do.
Crime scenes, which include domestic violence and scenes that may involve weapons, are worked by police first while Fire Department paramedics wait for the scene to be secured.
Schlichte said police officers at the fire scene Monday were apparently unaware that during a fire, the protocol calls for private ambulance workers to treat victims to allow firefighters to fight the fire.
"Our fire protocol, and it's been ongoing for 25 years, is that we will provide medical care for the city, until we go out the door for a fire," said Schlichte, who was in charge of Monday morning's fire scene. "Then we call the private companies."
During a fire, Schlichte said firefighters must put out the blaze as their first duty, and provide medical care second. The police must secure the scene. Because officers are trained as first responders, they all have first aid training.
The confusion between police officers and firefighters Monday morning involved who would give Mikulka oxygen after she inhaled smoke during the fire. Schlichte told officers to provide the woman oxygen from tanks they carry in their cruisers.
The recommendation stems from an early-morning fire at 22 Witham St. on Monday, which sent Karen Mikulka to Beverly Hospital for treatment of burns and smoke inhalation.
In a police report, police say firefighters - particularly deputy Chief Miles Schlichte - were uncooperative in helping police treat Mikulka after she was removed from the building. Schlichte, however, said firefighters were following standard protocol and could not leave the building until the fire was contained.
Neither department has a training program for how the other department uses its personnel and equipment at an emergency, which highlights the need, some say, for cooperative training.
"There should be, it's an excellent point," said police Lt. Kathleen Auld, who runs the Police Department's training programs. "Generally speaking, what we learn is through trial and error, and experience."
Schlichte said there is no Fire Department program that details what police duties and responsibilities at a fire scene are. But, he added, most police officers have responded to enough fires that they should know what Fire Department medics have to do.
Crime scenes, which include domestic violence and scenes that may involve weapons, are worked by police first while Fire Department paramedics wait for the scene to be secured.
Schlichte said police officers at the fire scene Monday were apparently unaware that during a fire, the protocol calls for private ambulance workers to treat victims to allow firefighters to fight the fire.
"Our fire protocol, and it's been ongoing for 25 years, is that we will provide medical care for the city, until we go out the door for a fire," said Schlichte, who was in charge of Monday morning's fire scene. "Then we call the private companies."
During a fire, Schlichte said firefighters must put out the blaze as their first duty, and provide medical care second. The police must secure the scene. Because officers are trained as first responders, they all have first aid training.
The confusion between police officers and firefighters Monday morning involved who would give Mikulka oxygen after she inhaled smoke during the fire. Schlichte told officers to provide the woman oxygen from tanks they carry in their cruisers.
"The level of care they were asked to provide does not get to the EMT level," Schlichte said. "Administering oxygen is basic first aid."
Schlichte said his department's standard procedure during structure fires is to use the Fire Department ambulance crews as a search and rescue team, and to call private ambulance companies for assistance.
"When we have a structure fire, the city ambulance is unavailable because the gentlemen who staff it are also on the ladder truck doing double duty," Schlichte said. "Depending on how things unravel, if they're available, they'll provide medical care. But their first duty is to go in and provide search and rescue."
Schlichte said the woman's injuries, which included burns and were painful, were not serious enough to pull the search team out of the building until they had determined no one else was inside.
"I asked the police if they had oxygen in their cruisers, and when they replied in the affirmative, I advised they could put the woman on oxygen and sit her in their cruiser until the private ambulance arrived," he said.
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