First respondersMeasuring carbon monoxide levels in bloodstream at the scene

The ability of Western Massachusetts emergency responders to triage victims at fire scenes has gotten a major boost from a homeland security grant. The $115,452 grant provides Springfield and sixteen other Western Massachusetts communities with specialized devices that can quickly measure the level of carbon monoxide in a person’s bloodstream at a fire scene.

The devices, called RAD 57 Pulse Oximeters, negate the costly and time-consuming need to take suspected smoke inhalation victims directly to a hospital for testing, Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis G. Leger said. Hospitals typically draw blood and analyze blood gases to obtain carbon monoxide levels, he said.

“It’s a tool to quickly triage people, especially at the scene of major emergencies, or, even at the scene of a regular house fire where firefighters are complaining of smoke inhalation,” Leger said.

Mass.live.com reports that carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and nonirritating toxic gas that can cause severe health problems or even death.

The grant was written by Robert Hassett, director of emergency preparedness for the Springfield Fire Department. It comes from the Western Massachusetts Homeland Security Advisory Council.

“The department is very fortunate to have someone like Hassett, who goes above and beyond,” Leger said. Devices will go to Springfield and other communities selected through population density and industrial density factors. The devices, through mutual aid, will be available for use in other communities as well.

Selected communities, along with Springfield, are: Agawam, Amherst, Chicopee, Deerfield, Great Barrington, Greenfield, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Ludlow, North Adams, Northampton, Pittsfield, South Hadley, West Springfield, Westfield and Wilbraham.