Actually the career firefighters/emt's are fairly well trained and equipped. at least in the larger cities. In the outlying areas it is another story. For example I lived in Munoz for a few months. The closest public ambulance had a 30-40 minute response time. Most of the time the local taxi would do the emergency transports. I spent a few months giving the taxi drivers instruction in maintaining an airway, control of bleeding, splinting and stabilization, etc. We figured that CPR wasn't going to be of any benefit as the closest place for defibrillation or medical intervention would still be 20 minutes away. The 12 drivers in the taxi union all looked forward to our classes on Sunday mornings. I think that someday they will try to aquire a used donated ambulance and be an effective EMS provider.
