Ambulance Services in Victoria

First responder program

The First Responder program aims to reduce the amount of time taken to respond to life threatening emergencies involving cardiac arrest.

When a person experiences a cardiac arrest within Metropolitan Melbourne, Ambulance Victoria paramedics and Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) firefighters are dispatched simultaneously to the patient.

MFB firefighters are trained in the initial management of life threatening medical emergencies. If they are the first to arrive at the scene of the emergency, they will provide emergency medical care until the ambulance paramedics arrive and take over.

The First Responder program operates within the boundaries of the Metropolitan Fire District which covers most of the Melbourne metropolitan area. A pilot is currently underway for the Country Fire Association (CFA) involving a number of CFA branches.

This initiative has the enthusiastic support of the National Heart Foundation of Australia, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, the Australian Resuscitation Council and the Australasian College of Physicians.