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Where is Winsted Ambulance located?
Can I go on a ride-along to see if I am interested in EMS?
What do your radio codes mean?
What are the membership requirements?
I have no training right now. What training is available?
How long is a shift?
What types of calls will I see?
What is the difference between an "EMT" and a "Paramedic?"
Is Winsted Ambulance town-owned?

Q. Where is Winsted Ambulance located?
A. We are at 655 Main Street. Click here for directions.

Q. Can I go on a ride-along to see if I am interested in EMS?
A. Winsted Ambulance does not have a ride-along program. If you want to ride with us, you have to join. (When you join, you are on probation for 6 months.) Sure, it might be simpler to have a ride along program, but we have to do things this way for insurance reasons. Click here to go to our 'join' page.

Q. What do your radio codes mean?
A. Here they are!

43 – En-route to headquarters
45 – On the air awaiting a crew
53 – En-route to call
30 – On scene of call
31 – En-route to hospital
32 – Arrived at hospital
71 – Clear of incident/ Returning to Head Quarters
52 – Available for service
80 – Incident closed and complete/ off the air at Head Quarters

Q. What are the membership requirements?
A. This page is a good place to start.

Q. How do I know if I can do this?
A. Can you can watch “Trauma in the ER” while eating dinner? You can do this. It’s important to note that you will not see trauma on every call. Most calls require only a calm demeanor and the presence of a knowledgeable, caring person -- that’s you. Training and practice will build your confidence to do what needs to be done when others panic and feel helpless.

Q. How much time will I have to commit to Winsted Ambulance?
A. We ask that members commit to 24 hours of call time per month. While on duty, EMTs do not have to stay at ambulance headquarters, but must be able to be seated in the ambulance, ready to go in 10 minutes.

Q. I have no training right now. What training is available?
A. Winsted has CPR, MRT, EMT-Basic, and EMT-Intermediate classes running at various times throughout the year. Sometimes, classes are cancelled if enrollment is too low, so if you want to take a class with us, be sure to e-mail our training coordinator.

Q. How long is a shift?
A. Weeknights (6pm to 6am) and Saturdays and Sundays (6am to 6pm, 6pm to 6am) are all volunteer. All members are required to do a minimum of 24 hours of call time per month.

Some members choose to split their shifts and do less time some nights. Most members living in Winsted keep their radios or pagers turned up and respond from home. It is uncommon not to have any calls during a shift, but it does happen, about half a dozen times per month.

We have two bedrooms (four beds) in the squad building and a few personnel respond to calls from there. (If responding from home, the member must be able to arrive at the garage within a reasonable time of our emergency tones going off.) The question inevitably arises, "will I get any sleep?" There are no single nights that have higher call volumes than other nights.* The night you choose to take call may have no activity at all, may be non-stop, or may be anything in between. Night shifts are all volunteer and unpaid.
* Statistically, however, the Ambulance Squad is least likely to get a call between 4am and 6am on Friday mornings.

Q. What types of calls will I see?
A. Calls run the gamut. Most calls are routine (i.e. we respond to things we are well prepared for and have seen before). Only a small percentage of emergency calls are what could only be characterized as strikingly bizarre. Winsted has responded to everything from bloody noses to cardiac arrests... but remember that no emergency is ever routine to the person having it! In all cases, patient confidentiality is paramount. Names, patient data, or the specifics of whatever you see should not be discussed with others who did not participate in the call.

Q. Do I have to be a riding member or can I do something else at Winsted Ambulance?
A. Volunteering at Winsted Ambulance means riding at Winsted Ambulance. There are narrow exceptions to this, such as for specific kinds of healthcare instructors.

Q. What is the difference between an "EMT" and a "Paramedic?"
A. The best answer to this question is a description of the levels of EMT. A division of the Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, has set standards for three levels of Emergency Medical Technician: the Basic, the Intermediate, and the Paramedic.

All pre-hospital emergency life support providers start at the Basic level. An EMT-Basic course is approximately 140 hours.

The next level of EMT is the EMT-Intermediate or simply EMT-I, which 41 states recognize in some form. In Connecticut, an EMT-I course is approximately 80 hours of classroom time, and after classroom study, students are required to spend time practicing the skill of IV starts in a hospital setting. Unfortunately, in Connecticut, the EMT-Intermediate can only initiate IV's under extremely limited circumstances and employ non-secure airway devices (and then only in cardiac arrest). Connecticut bases its EMT-I training on the DOT standard that was developed in 1985 (called the "EMT-I/85"). The DOT revised this dated EMT-Intermediate standard in 1999 and called it the "EMT-I/99 National Standard Curriculum." Connecticut has elected not to adopt this standard at this time. Other states put an emphasis on health care rather than focusing on what EMS providers cannot do.

A few states have a level of EMT above the Intermediate but below Paramedic. For example, Georgia has the Cardiac Technician, and New York has the EMT-Critical Care. These EMT's are typically trained in the use of advanced rescue techniques as well as in the use of a number of cardiac-related medications. Connecticut does not have such a level.

The highest level of EMT, recognized in all 50 states, is the Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic. The classroom time and clinical time required to become a Paramedic varies from state to state, but not by much: most programs run from 1,400 to 2,000 hours of study. To put things in perspective, it has been said that in the first ten minutes of a cardiac arrest, there is no difference between what a doctor can do and what an EMT-Paramedic can do. EMT-Paramedics are trained in the use of numerous emergency procedures that other levels of EMT are not. In addition, EMT-Paramedics are trained in the administration of scores of medications that lower levels of technician are not authorized to administer.

Q. Is Winsted Ambulance town-owned?
A. No. Winsted Ambulance is a private, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. We have an average yearly call volume of 1,700 calls and we are run as a business, with members volunteering literally thousands of hours serving the corporation in many different capacities. Patients' insurance carriers are billed, but EMT's riding nights are unpaid. Revenue goes toward operations, equipment, medical supplies and staff training.