ALS (Advanced Life Support) Rescue Ambulance – these vehicles are staffed by paramedics or firefighter/medics. A paramedic is similar to an EMT, but has additional training to allow them to dispense a wide array of medications that will help stabilize a patient while en route to a hospital. In many cases, a BLS ambulance will be dispatched to an emergency response, and once on-scene, if the patient appears to be “altered,” meaning they are either unconscious, or unable to respond to basic questions or commands, an ALS ambulance will be required to complete the patient treatment and transport. For critical situations, such as cardiac arrest, an ALS ambulance will be dispatched immediately. If you see fire engines arriving along with an ALS ambulance, that’s typically so that enough people are on hand to treat the patient. A cardiac patient may require as many as six people to proper treat and prepare for transport to a cardiac hospital.