Frequently Asked Questions

The City of Seguin prides itself on the delivery of state-of-the-art emergency medical services to our community. The ambulance and fire trucks are staffed by cross-trained firefighter/paramedics and firefighter/Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). A fire truck is dispatched with the ambulance on many calls for various reasons. In some cases, the fire truck may be closer and can initiate medical care before the arrival of the ambulance as they are equipped with the same lifesaving equipment as the ambulances. Certain call types require additional assistance in providing treatment and/or movement of the victim. Seguin also uses very aggressive pre-hospital emergency care treatments and the fire truck and ambulance crews together to make a highly efficient team to provide you with an unsurpassed level of care.

The fire truck carries much of the equipment that you would find on the ambulance. The fire truck crew can secure the scene, provide an assessment of your medical condition and begin treating most conditions before the ambulance arrives on the scene.

You can stop by your local fire station between 8 am and 5 pm and ask for a tour, or you may (and we recommend) contact us to schedule a tour. Remember, even when tours are scheduled the tour may be cut short or cancelled due to the station receiving an alarm and having to leave.

As a fire burns, it moves upward and outward. Breaking the windows and/or cutting holes in the roof (called ventilation) stops the damaging outward movement and enables firefighters to fight the fire more efficiently, actually resulting in less damage to the structure and its contents.

During the course of a day, it is not unusual for multiple emergencies to occur at the same time. If our ambulances or fire trucks are busy, we will dispatch a unit from another agency. This mutual aid works both ways; therefore our ambulances and fire trucks are commonly dispatched to the other municipalities.

Emergency lights and sirens are used only when responding to a call. Apparatus responding to calls are frequently canceled, or the first arriving unit determines that the call is not an emergency and tells the units to respond in a non-emergency mode, or to return to their station.

When you become aware of an approaching emergency vehicle, pull to the right and stop. If you are approaching an intersection and see an emergency vehicle that is approaching the intersection from behind you or another direction, come to a stop preferably one or two car lengths back from the intersection. These simple maneuvers can result in seconds saved by the emergency vehicle and can translate into a huge difference for someone who is having a medical emergency or is experiencing a fire.

Every smoke detector has a test button, usually in the center of the detector. Press the test button and hold it for a few seconds. If it is working correctly, the alarm will sound and will automatically stop when you release the button. Remember to test your smoke detector monthly and change the batteries twice a year.

Any Seguin Fire Station will do free blood pressure checks without an appointment, granted they are in the station and not on a call.

The Seguin Fire Department does not service or refill fire extinguishers. Look in the Yellow Pages under "fire equipment" to locate companies that do.