The process really isn't that involved, the hardest part is convincing the Group that we need the gear and working out who is going to pay for the kits, the training, the annual servicing, the cylinders and the ongoing re-accreds each year. Once we worked that out the Group Officers were happy to support it.
The next step is to get a 'Prescribed Equipment Form 2' completed and signed by your Group Officer, that then goes to the Regional Commander who then signs off on it and it goes to the Infrastructure and Logistics gurus, once they are happy with your what your are purchasing and how you are going to stow it you can then place an order. As we were using some money left over from the AED grants we had a few other things to sort out but the whole process took a couple of months from the time we got serious about it to the time we completed the training and put the gear on the trucks.
We were also fortunate enough to obtain a previous risk assessment that had been conducted by someone at Region One, fortunately it was for the same kits as we purchased so required very little alteration.
As for other brigades purchasing 02 therapy gear I guess it depends where you are as to how likely your Regional Commander is to sign off on it. Our Group Officer had some discussions with with the Regional Commander prior to our application and he now seems happy with the concept, other R.C's might not feel the same way though.
As for the AED's, they are approved to go, there is an email from the Chief with his permission to carry these. However because they generally cost over $1500 you will still need the approval of your Region to purchase them.
After conducting the training on the weekend and undertaking a fair bit of research into AED's and how they work I am pretty comfortable that our brigade has spent the money wisely. I can see a huge benefit to the community and the CFS if these are widely deployed on fire service vehicles. It will only be a matter of time before a life is saved with this gear.
