South Sioux City
The official government website for the City of South Sioux City, Nebraska
Frequent Q & A
FREQUENT QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC
Question 1
What types of calls do you respond to the most?
Answer
The SSCFD is an "All Hazard" response department. Basically, anything that you think is an emergency you can call 911 and if it is not something related to Law Enforcement, the 911 dispatcher will dispatch the fire department to investigate. Saying this, the most frequent calls we respond to are Emergency Medical Calls which make up 84% of all our calls. This includes, but not limited to car accidents, falls, heart attack, difficulty breathing, diabetic emergencies, stroke, shootings, stabbings etc.
Question 2
Do you respond to take people to clinics or to their doctor appointments?
Answer
The SSCFD responds to primary 911 emergency calls. The SSCFD does not do interfacility transports or transports to clinics or doctor offices. When SSCFD transports, it will only to be the local emergency departments at Unity Point St. Lukes or to Mercy One.
Question 3
Why does a fire engine respond to Medical Calls?
Answer
The SSCFD's current daily staffing is 3. When an Emergency Medical call comes in, the crews will take the ambulance and the engine. If a fire or 2nd emergency call comes in, the fire engine is there to immediately respond. In fact, the fire engine is the single most important unit on the fire department as it can respond and function at all emergencies no matter what they are. An ambulance is used primarily for transportation of patients from medical calls to the hospital. If the patient does not require advanced life support treatment, the paramedic will remain on the engine to respond to other emergencies.
Question 4
What do you do at the fire station when you are not on calls?
Answer
First thing that must be done every shift is to make sure we have all of our safety gear ready to go. Then we move on to make sure the equipment is ready to respond and function properly, so we check out everything to make sure it is ready to go. Then we start one of the busiest aspects being a firefighter is all of the required training. In order to meet all of the training requirements for 1 year to be a firefighter and EMT/Paramedic, this requires almost 3 hours of day of training. Because the fire station is our home for 24 hrs. at a time, we have daily house chores like mowing the grass, mopping floors, emptying the trash and planning meals. Other duties that we do when not on emergency calls are inspections of rental properties in the community to make sure they are up to code, public events educating the public on how to be safe, along with school visits teaching students about fire prevention. Then we still have to prepare and cook our own meals. During the shift when we do respond to emergency calls, when finished, we need to input all the information into a computer reporting system which can take at times close to 1 hour per call.
Question 5
What kind of shifts do you work?
Answer
Here at the SSCFD the firefighters work what is called a 3/4 Kelly schedule starting at 0700 every morning. This means that when a firefighter comes to work, they are they for 24 hours, then they go home for 24 hours. Then they are on again/off again on again then off duty for 4 straight days. The schedule works out that the firefighter is at work for a minimum of 10 days a month. This is common for all most all full-time departments. Some departments do 24 on/48 off, 48 on and 96 hours off, but no matter what schedule is worked, it equals 10 shifts / month.
Question 6
How fast do you have to respond to a call?
Answer
From the time the 911 call center alerts the SSCFD of an emergency call, the goal is that the units must be rolling 60 sec for medical calls and 90 seconds for a fire call. Then the travel time to be on scene the goal is 4 minutes anywhere in the city. This is set by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) in 1710 NFPA Standard. This is what all full-time departments try and achieve in their communities.
Question 7
What does it mean to offer Advanced Life Support?
Answer
Advance Life Support is like bringing the Emergency Room of a hospital to your doorstep. It is the highest level of care offered outside of the emergency department. Only South Sioux City Fire Department has Paramedics on shift that can deliver this high-quality care in this Northeast Nebraska area. SSCFD has agreements with the communities in Northeast Nebraska, that if that community responders think that their patient requires Advanced Life Support Care, they will notify the 911 center by radio to respond our paramedic to meet them as they are transporting to the emergency department. When SSCFD meets up with them, the paramedic will jump into their ambulance and provide that level of care to the hospital. This is called a "Paramedic Intercept" Response. This is a great partnership with these communities to be able work as a team taking care of the patient and to be able to provide this level of medical care.
Question 8
Do you have any EMT's or Paramedics who are not firefighters?
In order to work here at the South Sioux Fire Department, everyone must be firefighters. To test for a full-time position, a person must have both their EMT-Basic and Firefighter 1 certification. Both of these certifications can be obtained through a community college. Northeast Community College, Western Iowa Technical College, Iowa Western Community College and Metropolitan Community College in Omaha offer at least one if not both certifications. Sometimes they offer this education at satellite locations. Many of our volunteers are coming to us from the Career Academy in Sioux City, which is a great program we support that trains high school students to become firefighters after they graduate.
Question 9
How far up does your Ladder Truck reach?
The current ladder truck for the South Sioux Fire Department is new to us. It will reach 105' into the air and can flow over 1000 gallons of water per minute.
Question 10
What can the public do to protect themselves from fire in their homes?
One of the most important things that the public can do is to make sure they have a exit plan on how to get out of the house if there was a fire and where to meet up. Make sure they have a working smoke detector in every bedroom, living room, and basement. If you have gas appliances, we also recommend a Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector. If you have a habit of burning candles, please make sure they are on a non-combustible hard surface area with nothing around them in case they fall over or break, and when you leave, make sure the candle is out. Good housekeeping habits is always a recommendation and do not put anything the home in that covers up a potential exit path like a dresser in front of a window. Try and have a class ABC extinguisher that everyone knows the location of and last, when you go to sleep at night, make sure you keep your bedroom doors closed. The national program is call "Close before you doze". Remember, if you discover a fire, get out of the home before you call 911. Let the 911 center know you have a fire, where it is located and if anyone is trapped inside. NEVER GO BACK IN!
- News
Site Design and Content Copyright © 2025