San Jose firefighters - Jail safety protocols / procedures

San Jose firefighters are trying to refine their duties in treating prisoners at Santa Clara County Jail, and they have been training with jail workers in recent weeks to improve their understanding of the jail's rules.

Firefighters from Fire Station 1 at 225 N. Market St. typically respond to 911 calls at the county jail, but some firefighters said in the spring that they felt uncomfortable in the jail because their radios don't work, the doors lock behind them and they need guards to secure inmates as they enter rooms.

Firefighters have averaged 300 responses to the lockup annually in the past eight years, and some residents and Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio feared that too much service time had been drawn away from the neighborhood that the station serves.

County jail staff have said that no firefighters have been injured in the facility and that prisoners and employees deserved the same medical care as residents.

In October, San Jose leaders discussed a potential memorandum of understanding with the county that would outline firefighters' jail duties and criteria for making a 911 call, but no formal meetings about the document have taken place. Instead, jail leaders have met with firefighters and trained them on jail safety protocols and procedures, said jail spokesman Mark Cursi.

Assistant fire chief Nick Thomas said in late November that there was no time frame for the formal memorandum of understanding, but he hoped that it would increase firefighters' safety.

The memorandum would be a "living document and revised as needed to meet the needs of both agencies," Thomas wrote in an e-mail.

Firefighters are also interested in improving radio communications within the jail because the walls can block transmissions.

When jail guards call 911, an American Medical Response ambulance and four-person firefighter crew typically respond.

Firefighters usually enter the building to care for inmates, and AMR paramedics drive patients to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

City and county officials have discussed using a formal "sally port" on the ground floor for injured patients to wait, which would eliminate the need for firefighters to enter further into the jail.

"The city is optimistic that refinements to policies and procedures related to medical emergencies will enable all stakeholders to operate more safely, effectively and efficiently," said San Jose Fire Chief Darryl Von Raesfeld in a statement.

Source: San Jose Mercury News Article - Link