[JshWright]

The US is a little unique in the extent to which "firefighter/paramedic" is a common role, but it's very typical for firefighting personal to have at least some level of medical training, even if it's just the "first responder" level.

It's not clear to me from the story if the personnel sent over by the fire department were paramedics at all. The actions described would be well within the scope of a BLS first responder.

If I had to guess, the chief sent a BLS engine company, which would typically consist of 3-4 people, all trained to the EMT/FR level.

[LorenPechtel]

That's my impression, also. It doesn't compromise their primary job because if they're actually needed at a fire they can roll from the hospital rather than the station.

I've seen plenty of fire/paramedic/ambulance crews doing various things while awaiting a call. So long as they're ready to jump on the truck and roll quickly dispatch simply needs to know where they are so as to determine what unit is closest.