International Nursing conference in Barcelona ICN 2017

"NURSING HISTORY OF THE BARCELONA FIRE BRIGADE"

"152 YEARS OF HISTORY, 66 YEARS NURSING'S PREHOSPITAL EMERGENCY"

From the Health Service of the Barcelona Fire Brigade,  we have great pleasure in offering you this information leaflet about our history.

Until the first half of the nineteenth century, The Mutual Aid Society against Fires was responsible for ensuring the safety of the city of Barcelona, however, in 1867 Barcelona town council took on this task as their own responsibility, leading to the establishment of the Preventative, Fire extinction and Rescue Service, which would become the origin of what exists at the present time.

During the handover of responsibilities an exhaustive inspection of all the equipment was carried out, and from which appeared the first emergency  first-aid kit, which confirms that Health care in the Barcelona Fire Brigade has been constant ever since 1867.

It is in 1902, however, in the time of the mayor ,Manuel Porcar Tió, when the health team for the Fire Brigade first appeared,  with a stretcher and a first-aid kit.

It should be noted that between 1932 and 1934, was when physical exercise, especially gymnastics, started to become popular.  This being one of the peculiarities  of our body, as an important factor among firefighters in that in the fires and rescues, there are, even today, very dangerous situations that must be overcome with physical strength and agility.

An example that has to be considered is the action of the firefighting forcé of Barcelona throughout the Spanish civil war between 1936 and 1939.  Their prompt action and preparation helped to minimize the misfortunes that the population of Barcelona underwent, among which the worst was the bombardment  of the city.

If we imagine ourselves in the Barcelona of 1950, we can observe that we are in a city in the throes of industrial development , with innumerable small manufacturing workshops of all kinds, as well as large industries situated in various districts, including right in the centre.   

This way, fires, explosions, electrical faults etc became the day-to-day work of the firefighters. Besides, if we add to that the precariousness of the buildings and the lack of preventative measures, the result was that in many incidents the firefighters were injured and even died in the place itself.   

So because of this there arose a need in the service, to provide medical attention ¨in situ¨to wounded or injured firefighters.

The nursing ambulance service for the fire service in Barcelona, as we know it today, started to be in regular use in approximately 1950, although there do exist documents that show that in 1929 a Hispanic-Swiss ambulance was acquired, because of  the modernization of the Fire Service , which in turn was due to the Universal Exposition that took place in the Barcelona of that time.

In 1951, following the models that existed in other countries, a Health Project was started for the firefighters, which claimed to be a pioneer in our country.  They tried to create a profesional medical service  as an integral part of the fire service.

This Project was launched in 1954, from the initiative of a group of firefighters who had volunteered to study and qualify as nurses. 

These men were the ones who., due to great personal effort and from winning a thousand battles with bureaucracy, were eventually able to form a group of health personnel fully integrated into the service.

At last, in 1973, the named Health Service of the Barcelona Fire Brigade was established with a staff of ten nurses and a doctor, to cover rescue  and  health assistance 24 hours a day.

The updating of the service was pursued between 1984 and 1988 with the incorporation of four ambulances,three Fiats and one Chevrolet , which allowed for a substantial modernization of mobile and suitable equipment of the fire stations.

In the 80's, those pioneering nurses were now older, and needed to be relieved.  The new health workers that were employed, still all men, some of them  were already fully qualified nurses (ATS) but others just had  Nursing diplomas (DUE's).

Later on, in 1986, nine more personnel were added to the staff, and now, yes, the first women were employed who with their efforts and in many incidents, showed they were perfectly suited to the post.   These nurses were incorporated with a diploma in Nursing (DUE's)

At that time, the staff consisted of 25 health personnel, 24 nurses and a head doctor, and 5 ambulances.

These same were provided with  the most up-to-date equipment for personal protection, rescue and health attention.  This was  as well as the most recent generation of UCI ambulances.

So started the multi-disciplinary  formation of the fire service , using techniques and procedures for the rescue of victims difficult to access in high-risk  situations in terms of biological, chemical or physical effects.

From about 1990, during a time of acclimatization between the Barcelona Fire Brigade and the emergency medical service (SEM), it was found necessary for both parties to sign an agreement with regard to the city of Barcelona, in which their  respective areas of work were clearly defined.

In practice, the health workers from SEM and the Fire Brigade, had many services in common and worked conjointly, but making sure protocols were followed.

We must not forget that the Service was maintained thanks to the good will of everyone, of the unit from our team and the firefighters, the social forces in unison, and  ¨unfortunately¨ in some  accidents, when all parties acted with impeccable professionalism.

In actual fact, the nursing staff of the Barcelona Fire Brigade  now reaches  a total of 20 nurses, divided in  five shifts, plus a head nurse.

The service also has a working doctor for the Urban Guard and the Fire Brigade, who receives health information about firefighters from the nurses.

The history of the evolution of the Barcelona Fire Brigade from its foundation in the first half of the nineteenth century until the present, allows one to learn more about the lesser known aspects of the history of Barcelona.

¨The firefighters are the protagonists of this  citizen's chronicle, focused on the health work of our colleagues who have dedicated their lives to the saving and rescue of all those people who have been involved in incidents”.

"To all of them, a big THANK YOU"

DEDICATED TO ALL THE NURSES IN THE BARCELONA FIRE BRIGADE.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Maestre, Jesús. Bombers de Barcelona. Barcelona: Ayuntamiento de Barcelona; 2005.

•  Sabadell Mercadé, José. Historial del cuerpo de Bomberos de Barcelona (1379-1939). Barcelona: Ediciones Técnico Publicitarias; 1943.

J.C . Yepes

Head of the Health Service of the Barcelona Fire Brigade. Head of Health group SPEIS   (Service for the Prevention and extinguishing of fires)

David  Ropero, Lucia Rodríguez, Montse Sanz, Manel Tomás, Miguel Matéu, Nuria Molina

Heads of the Health Sector, SPEIS    (Service for the prevention and extinguishing of fires)

¨We would like to mention with thanks our official photographer Joaquin Pol,for having allowed the use of these photographs for the article, to the SPEIS management for betting on the Health Services”.