FIREFIGHTERS will be sent to help people suffering cardiac arrests and strokes across Oxfordshire.

Under a landmark deal set to be struck between an ambulance trust and four county fire services, specially-trained station crews would be alerted to 999 calls for choking, major bleeding, strokes, seizures and other serious medical emergencies at the same time as paramedics.

They will then be deployed to the scene if they can get there more quickly.

Fire chiefs hope the agreement between South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) and the fire services of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Hampshire – believed to be the first of its kind in the country – will be signed in the coming weeks.

In Oxfordshire, it would at first involve fire crews from Slade Park in Oxford, Abingdon, Thame and Henley, with expansion considered after a six-month review.

And SCAS would also be able to call on all 24 of the county’s fire stations for help during the times of highest demand. This was done last Christmas, when fire crews responded to more than 430 ambulance calls.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, the county’s chief fire officer, Dave Etheridge, said: “This is a major step forward for the county that will bring huge benefits to people in their greatest time of need.

“We have one of the best fire services in the UK and this will be a revolution.

“Things are really going to step up over the next few years and we should not be frightened of that, but embrace it.

“Our aim is to make the county safer for everyone who lives, works and travels here.”

Under the deal, the fire service would be able to recover costs from SCAS and would be provided with rapid-response cars, Mr Etheridge said.

Ambulance trust spokesman David Gallagher said: “Following the success of the co-responding schemes put in place last winter, plans are well under way to continue to ensure similar arrangements are in place for winter 2015/16.

“SCAS trains the firefighters in Oxfordshire, which means that they can be deployed at any time should the trust need their assistance.”

The agreement will apply to so-called “Red 1” calls, the most time-critical emergencies. More than 170 firefighters have been given emergency trauma training, including in the use of defibrillators and oxygen cylinders.

It comes as senior figures look to widen the role of the fire service and modernise its equipment.

Joint bids with Thames Valley Police are being made for unmanned drone devices that could fly above fires or enter buildings that are ablaze.

And other schemes that could allow first-responder firefighters to stream live video footage of patients back to hospitals will also be examined.

Mr Etheridge said: “You will see more working together between the three ‘blue light’ services and the technology will step up.”

Assistant chief fire officer Simon Furlong added: “If you think about fires like the one at the Randolph Hotel, or South Oxfordshire District Council’s offices, or think about winter flooding, drones would have been very helpful.”

In its latest annual report, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, which is part of the county council, said firefighters responded to 5,905 incidents in 2014-15, with an average response time of seven-and-a-half minutes.

Oxford Mail:

  • Major step: Oxfordshire’s chief fire officer Dave Etheridge

Fire engines arrived at 85 per cent of emergencies in 11 minutes or less and 95 per cent in 14 minutes or less, exceeding targets.

There were two accidental fire deaths, the same number as last year.

But fire chiefs said they were also seeing an expanded role in social care, with firefighters making 88 children’s social care referrals last year, up from 62 the previous year, and 18 referrals to the fire service’s safety advisors for home visits.

Mr Etheridge said: “If we see a family that needs support, we will not just walk away – we can make sure that contact is made with them and make return visits to vulnerable elderly people or children.

“We are seeing now both the appetite and political support for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service to make a bigger difference, by expanding our role.”

He said there were ambitions for other schemes, such as fire cadet groups for children aged 12 to 18, to be targeted at children in care.

“We think firefighters can be good role models for these children,” he said.

The service has also set itself new targets for its 10-year 365Alive campaign, after achieving its goal of saving 365 lives two years early last year.

It is estimated that the scheme – launched in 2006 – has now also saved another 11 lives in the past year through its education and safety initiatives.

Fire chiefs are now looking at how the scheme could be expanded in the future.