ESSEX firefighters could be called out to minor medical emergencies to free up paramedics for more serious calls.

The idea was floated at a high-level conference looking at getting emergency services working better together to cut costs and make them all work more effectively.

Paul Hill, Essex’s assistant chief fire officer, is keen.

He said: “The fire service and the health service meet the needs of the same people.

“Working together effectively could help improve services and save time,money and resources.

“This is not about the fire service replacing anyone, but helping in the way the others need.

“There will not be any one-size-fits all measure and we will have to work to find out what is appropriate for us.”

Rob Ashford, the East of England Ambulance Service’s Essex chief, said involving other agencies could help to reduce response times.

He said: “We already have an excellent working relationship with Essex Fire and Rescue Service and we already share a lot of facilities with them.

“This is not about firefighters becoming paramedics, but how we can prioritise our calls to respond to those who are the most poorly.

“The expectation is we respond quickly and it is imperative we get the correct response for each patient.

"If a fire crew is waiting for its next call, then perhaps it might be able to help, maybe even just completing an initial medical assessment.

“It could give us the chance to focus on patients who are suffering life threatening illnesses.”

Acting chief fire officer Adam Eckley said it was also important for his crews to talk to householders about safety whenever they visited homes.

He added: “The fire and rescue service crosses thousands of thresholds every single year.

“We want to save more lives, prevent more injuries and improve the health of the people and communities we serve.

"This is the start of the conversation and there is a range of mutualbenefits we canexplore.

“From 2020, we want to get a working smoke alarm in each house and as we cross these thresholds, also work out how can we help prevent, slips, trips and falls.

“It is about asking ourselves what we can do as a fire service to help other partners reduce incidents.”