Margate Fire Department Uses New Device to Save Lives

by David Volz August 5, 2025

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Vito Labriola, Margate Division Chief with a GlideScope device that has helped the department save lives. {David Volz}

The Margate Fire Department reports success with its new GlideScope Go2 medical device that has been placed on rescue trucks.

The device features a high-definition screen camera that enables first responders to obtain a clear image during intubation, a procedure where a patient needs assistance to breathe, allowing rescue workers to see the tube as it’s being placed, according to Vito Labriola, Division Chief.

“We have saved people who were in cardiac arrest, and we have had a 100 percent success rate with the GlideScope,” said Labriola.

The device allows photo and video capture so hospital staff can review exactly what was done in the field with better coordination from the scene to the hospital, according to Labriola.

Margate has five GlideScopes, and each one costs about $2,400. They replaced an older device that was not as effective.

Labriola said, “They are very popular and more departments are buying them.”

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Author Profile

David Volz

David Volz has worked as a writer in South Florida for 35 years. He has written for the Sun-Sentinel, Hollywood Gazette, School Transportation News, South Dade News Leaders, Observer among others. He has an MA in Communications from Florida Atlantic University and a BA in Communications from Valparaiso University. Volz teaches Communications at Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College. He lives in Coral Springs and enjoys running and participating in 5Ks and half-marathons.