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Ambulance Dispatch Delay Being Investigated

AN EXPERIENCED 9-1-1 DISPATCHER IN PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA, is on administrative reassignment today after an incident where an ambulance was not dispatched until 14 minutes after the call came in.

The incident took place on Friday night when a caller reported that a 91-yr.-old woman was in cardiac arrest. The dispatcher who is also a supervisor, took the call and immediately sent a police unit and a fire engine that was staffed with three EMT’s and one Paramedic. But for some as-yet-unknown reason, the ambulance wasn’t dispatched until much later.

This video report from WZVN-TV has the full story, but the newscasters appear to be trying to blame the dispatch error for the woman’s death, despite the timely arrival of the paramedic engine crew:

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Posted by firegeezer on March 11, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Videos, ambulances, dispatch • Tagged: delayed ambulance, dispatch delay, Punta Gorda Florida

Driver Dead After Colliding With Ambulance and Three Cars

A LAWTON, MICHIGAN, MAN IS DEAD after he went on a car-banging spree Monday night, striking four other vehicles while speeding along a highway.

Shortly after 8 pm Monday, the crew of a Coloma EMS ambulance called 9-1-1 to report that they had just been struck by a car which then drove off at a high rate of speed. While a deputy was en route to the accident scene, two more calls came in from other drivers reporting that they, too, had been struck by a car that continued on, speeding away from the accidents.

When deputies arrived at the scene of the third accident, they were waved down my somebody who directed them to a fourth accident where a car had been flipped over. Not far away was the offending vehicle that had rolled over several times and ended up crashing into a garage.

The driver of the car, 58-yr.-old Everett Painter had to be extricated by the fire department, but he had already died at the scene.

Neither of the ambulance crew members were injured, but the man who was driving the 4th vehicle that had rolled over was hospitalized for back and neck pains. The Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the accident and looking for the explanation why the driver was behaving the way he was.

The Kalamazoo Gazette has the FULL STORY.

Posted by firegeezer on March 9, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, ambulances • Tagged: Coloma EMS, Everett Painter, Kalamazoo Michigan, Lawton Michiga

LODD’s

A BENSALEM, PENNSYLVANIA, PARAMEDIC WAS KILLED SUNDAY NIGHT after an interaction with a mental patient. Early reports said that he was stabbed, but later stories indicate that it might have been a different cause. The story is still very fluid, but JEMS Connect is staying with it and will be updating as more facts are reported. CLICK HERE to see JEMS posting which has several links and a video report is now in the following update. Updated, 11:20 am: It is now determined that the medic died from a head injury, but no weapon was involved. JEMS.com now has the updated report and additional video HERE.

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A 51-YR.-OLD VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER IN Borrodino, New York, died Saturday night while he was responding to a building collapse call in his 2nd-due territory. From the Signal99.com forum: The Borodino Rescue Pumper was enroute to Spafford for a call. While enroute, they had a 51 male onboard having difficulty breathing. They relayed this information to fire dispatch via cell phone because there isn’t a mobile radio installed in the rescue pumper.

They requested that a SAVES ambulance meet them at Spaffords fire station. A few minutes later, Spafford base advised fire dispatch to tell SAVES to make their best time and that it was now a full arrest. There was no fire radio in the new truck because the county is in the midst of implementing a new digital radio system .

The Syracuse Post-Standard has the STORY.
Borodino Fire Department WEBSITE.

Hat tip: Harry H.

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A HONG KONG FIREFIGHTER WAS KILLED AND THREE MORE were critically injured at a factory fire Monday morning. The blaze broke out in a fifth-floor knitting factory in the Lai Cheong Factory Building at about 8.20am. Firefighters had difficulty fighting the fire, hampered by heavy smoke and many objects blocking their operations. 47-yr.-old Senior Fireman Yeung Chun-kit died after he was taken to the hospital.

Posted by firegeezer on March 8, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Health & Safety, Firefighter Safety & Health, Line of Duty, ambulances • Tagged: Bensalem paramedic killed, Bensalem Pennsylvania, Borodino New York, Hong Kong firefighter, LODD

EMT Loses Leg After Ambulance Crash

A FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA, EMT WAS REQUIRED to have his left leg amputated below the knee Tuesday night following a violent crash.

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WPTV

Fort Pierce police spokeswoman Audria Moore issued a statement:

An ambulance, driven by St. Lucie County Firefighter William Hines, was at the intersection of Virginia Avenue and 25th Street to make a left turn onto 25th Street, when a Nissan SUV, driven by Germaine Lindor, 63, of the 2600 block of NW Hatches Harbor Road, Port St. Lucie, entered the intersection and collided with the passenger side of the ambulance.

The impact tipped the ambulance over on its driver side and caused it to spin around and skid on its side for about 50 feet. The SUV continued traveling north on 25th Street until it came to a stop.

The driver of the SUV, Lindor was killed immediately on impact. The driver of the ambulance was treated at the hospital and released. The EMT Chris Doyle, who was in the passenger seat took the brunt of the impact and had to be extricated from the wreckage. His left leg was so badly mangled that the surgeons at the hospital had to amputate it below the knee.

pierce a WPTV

WPTV

One eyewitness to the crash told the Fort Pierce Tribune: “This is a 45 (mph zone) and it was doing twice that, no problem at all. Ninety, easy,” Kelly said. “I saw her 50 feet away from the intersection. I couldn’t believe that she wasn’t slowing down. … Hit that hump, it seemed like her truck left the ground and jumped up in the air and hit the ambulance.”

A police investigator said that they have not yet determined the speed of the SUV, but that the debris field and impact results indicate that it was “substantial.”

WPBF-TV filed this video report from the accident scene:

WPEC-TV has more HERE.

Posted by firegeezer on March 4, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos, ambulances • Tagged: EMT Chris Doyle, Firefighter William Hines, Fort Pierce ambulance, Fort Pierce Florida, Germaine Lindor

E.M.S.C. In Shaky Financial Situation.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES CORPORATION (EMSC), the parent corporation of AMR, the nation’s largest private ambulance firm, announced today that it is attempting to secure additional money through loans to pay off current debt and establish a new credit line.

The Press Release says in part:

EMSC today announced that it has initiated a process to obtain new senior secured credit facilities. The Company intends to issue new senior credit facilities consisting of a $425 million term loan and a $125 million revolving credit facility.

Proceeds from the new senior credit facilities and cash on hand would be used to repay the current balance of approximately $200 million term loan and call its 10% senior subordinated notes with an outstanding balance of $250 million soon after the closing of the Transaction. The new $125 million revolving credit facility will replace the existing $100 million revolving credit facility.

Emergency Medical Services Corporation (EMSC) is a leading provider of emergency medical services in the United States. EMSC operates two business segments: American Medical Response, Inc. (AMR), the Company’s healthcare transportation services segment, and EmCare Holdings Inc. (EmCare), the Company’s outsourced facility-based physician services segment. AMR is the leading provider of ambulance services in the United States. EmCare is a leading provider of outsourced physician services to healthcare facilities. In 2009, EMSC provided services in 13.0 million patient encounters in more than 2,200 communities nationwide. EMSC is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

AMR employs about 18,500 people nationwide.

The Denver Post has a brief report that tries to keep the explanation simple HERE.

Posted by firegeezer on March 2, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, News, ambulances, current events • Tagged: amr, EMSC

Teen Dies After Leaping From Moving Ambulance

A 16-YR.-OLD BOY IN GREENVILLE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA, died Sunday afternoon after he jumped out of an ambulance while it was traveling on Interstate 85. The incident began just before 1 pm during an ambulance transfer.

Ryan Emory was in restraints on the cot while he was being transported from Greenville Memorial Hospital’s emergency room to a psychiatric facility in Columbia when he broke free of his restraints, dashed past the EMT who was with him, and jumped out the door. After tumbling along the roadway, he went immediately into cardiac arrest and the the medic crew were unable to revive him.

WYFF-TV has the STORY.

Posted by firegeezer on March 1, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, ambulances • Tagged: Greenville Memorial Hospital ambulance, Ryan Emory

Thefts Plague Colorado Ambulance Stations

THIEVES ARE HITTING AMBULANCE STATIONS in the Denver, Colorado, Metro area stealing narcotics and, in some cases, uniforms. In the past few weeks they have broken into fire stations in four different jurisdictions, then broken into the locked narcotics cabinets and stolen IV bags containing Vercet, Valium, Morphine and Fetanyl. Investigators believe that the stolen uniforms will be used to assist them to pose as firefighters and gain entry to areas normally not accessible to the public.

So far, they have hit two stations of the Westminster Fire Department as well as the Federal Heights Fire Department, North Metro Fire Rescue and the Clear Creek Ambulance Service. In some cases, they have done the stealing while firefighters were in the building.

KDVR-TV filed this video report:

Posted by firegeezer on February 25, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Videos, ambulances, crime • Tagged: Clear Creek Ambulance Service, Federal Heights Fire Department, narcotics thefts, North Metro Fire Rescue, Westminster Fire Department

Another Stolen Ambulance

AN AMBULANCE WAS STOLEN OUT OF THE STATION in Bemidji, Minnesota, Monday morning. The Bemidji Ambulance Service unit was last seen at 3 am, but when an employee entered the bay at 6 am it was missing. It was located at 7:30 am in another part of the city crashed into a utility pole.

The Bemidji Pioneer reports that: Items were disturbed in another ambulance, but nothing appeared to be missing from that unit. A search of the ambulance located (at the crash scene) revealed that a cell phone and GPS unit were missing. The locked narcotics container was accounted for, as was cash.

While utility crews were replacing the pole, a man with a head injury showed up and started asking a lot of questions about the wreck, so the police were called. He was arrested on related charges and they found a GPS receiver and a cell phone on his person. The BAS has identified the items as belonging to them.

Read the complete report in the Bemidji Pioneer HERE.

Posted by firegeezer on February 23, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, ambulances, crime • Tagged: Bemidji Ambulance Service, Bemidji Minnesota

Amb. Driver Sentenced for Manslaughter

A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF LOUISVILLE METRO EMS in Kentucky was sentenced to prison earlier today to cap a story that we have been following for 22 months.

Tammy Brewer (WAVE-TV)

Tammy Brewer (WAVE-TV)

In April 2008 Tammy Brewer, now 37, was driving a Metro ambulance carrying a patient to the hospital when it ran off the road and wrecked. The patient received fatal injuries from the crash, dying in the hospital later from blunt force trauma. At the time, Brewer told police that a pedestrian darted out in front of the ambulance (shortly after midnight) causing her to swerve and crash. (Firegeezer report HERE.)

Two weeks later a witness came forward who told police that she was driving behind the ambulance the night of the crash and the vehicle was swerving for a half-mile to a mile. “It swerved from our lane to the other lane back to our lane and it wasn’t just a little bit of a swerve to the line, they were swerving all the way over to the other lane,” she said. (Firegeezer REPORT.)

The investigation continued until August 2009 when she was indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder, assault, driving under the influence, wanton criminal endangerment and criminal mischief. (Firegeezer REPORT.)

This morning Brewer appeared before a judge and pleaded guilty to manslaughter, assault, wanton endangerment, criminal mischief and driving under the influence of intoxicants. She was then sentenced to serve 10 years in prison.

WHASTV Ch. 11 has this video report from the courtroom this morning:

Posted by firegeezer on February 22, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Law & Justice, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos, ambulances • Tagged: Louisville Metro EMS, manslaughter, prison sentence, Tammy Brewer

EMS Leaders Investigated for Missing Drugs

SPARSELY-POPULATED HICKMAN COUNTY, TENNESSEE, was rocked this week when it was learned that their two top emergency agency officials are being investigated for drugs missing from county ambulances.

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Emergency Management Agency Director Terry Cloud has been placed on medical leave without pay and the director of EMS, Michael Lynn, is on administrative leave with pay, according to Hickman County Mayor Steve Gregory. When the suspicions were first brought to the attention of the county district attorney, she requested the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to look into the allegations. When they have completed their investigation, they will give the D. A. their findings and she will determine what action to take.

NewsChannel5 Nashville provided this video report:

The TBIconfirms that the investigation is for taking prescription drugs from the ambulances for personal use. Mayor Gregory made the decision to suspend the two employees while the investigation continues and he has assigned the assistant EMA director to temporarily run both agencies.

Posted by firegeezer on February 21, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Videos, ambulances, crime • Tagged: EMA Director Terry Cloud, EMS Director Michael Lynn, Hickman County Tennessee, Mayor Steve Gregory, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Time to Move the Button

A NEW YORK CITY POLICE DISPATCHER WAS TAKING AN AMBULANCE CALL from Manhattan Thursday and mistakenly sent the ambulance to Brooklyn instead. By the time the mistake was identified and corrected, an ambulance that was sent to the correct location arrived shortly after the 6-yr-old patient had died.

The call came from a distraught mother on Avenue C in Manhattan who was reporting that her young son was suddenly bleeding from his nose, but he was unable to provided the dispatcher with a related cross-street. The dispatcher then pressed a button that is designed to provide that sort of information, but she hit the button for the Brooklyn street grid instead. Brooklyn also has an Ave. C, so a unit was sent on the call. They arrived 6 minutes after the call first came in to 9-1-1, but quickly determined that they were at the wrong address. When dispatch called back the phone number, they then learned of the error and sent another unit to the correct location.

When the 2nd ambulance arrived, 18 minutes had passed since the call was first received and by then the boy had died.

The New York Daily News reports that the boy had been taken to a hospital on Monday and a clinic on Wednesday for flu-like symptoms and a fever. City authorities admit that it was human error and not a computer malfunction that led to the delay.

WPIX-TV has this video report:

Posted by firegeezer on February 21, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Videos, ambulances, dispatch • Tagged: 911 dispatcher, Ave. C

Blazingly Fast Response

A NORTHERN IRELAND AMBULANCE SERVICE unit was responding to the Antrim Hospital with a patient Sunday afternoon when the driver notice smoke starting to come into the cab.

He immediately pulled over and the crew got the patient out safely just seconds before the ambulance broke out in flames. It was completely destroyed while a passerby loaded the patient and paramedic into his van and completed the trip.

antrim a UTV

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said that an investigation into the fire has been launched. The Service insisted that the ambulance fleet is safe and said that “no vehicles will be withdrawn at this stage”.

The Belfast Telegraph has the STORY.

Posted by firegeezer on February 15, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Fires, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, ambulances, fire • Tagged: ambulance fire, Belfast Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

Pennsylvania EMS Providers Sue Insurers

THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, HAS JOINED A GROWING NUMBER of statewide EMS providers who are suing several health insurers for refusing to pay ambulance fees to the service providers. The group is petitioning the court to open the case as a class-action suit which would join approx. 200 ambulance squads/firms together in the suit.

They are claiming that the insurance firms are refusing to pay the emergency service fees unless the EMS firms sign a contract with them agreeing to accept a much smaller fee for services than the legitimate cost of providing them. The ambulance squads are accusing them of “a pattern of extortion” in the attempt to force them into agreeing to the reduced payments. Instead, the insurers are paying the lower fees directly to the patients, who may or may not reimburse the ambulance firm.

The plaintiffs claim that state law gives them the right to be paid directly. Besides Pittsburgh, the plaintifffs include the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania (200+ members), Monessen Ambulance Service, Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services, Robinson EMS, Goodwill Hose Company Ambulance Association, Lancaster EMS Association, United Hook & Ladder Co., New Oxford Community Fire Co., Penn Township Volunteer Emegency Services Inc., Tremont Area Ambulance Association, Valley Ambulance Authority, Yoe Fire Company Ambulance Service and Northwest EMS.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has MORE.

Posted by firegeezer on February 13, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Law & Justice, ambulances • Tagged: Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania

Another Stolen Ambulance

THIS TIME IT WAS WITH THE PATIENT STILL INSIDE. A man jumped into the driver’s seat of an ambulance at a Wisconsin ski resort Monday and attempted to drive off. The man who was obviously drunk didn’t realize that the two paramedics were in the back treating a patient when he began his journey.

The Dane County EMS unit was called to the Tyrol Basin ski resort for a knee injury to a high school competitor and they were tending to her when the episode began.

Nicholas Pontillo, 24, was arrested after a short foot chase and charged with several felonies. The Dane County Sheriff issued this press release:

Madison, WI. February 9, 2010 – At approximately 5:20 pm on Monday, February 8th, Dane County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the Tyrol Basin ski area, located at 3487 Bohn Road in the town of Vermont.

The initial report was of an intoxicated man attempting to steal a Fitchrona EMS ambulance. When deputies arrived, Police Officers from Mt. Horeb had made contact with the subject, Nicholas A. Pontillo, age 24 of Lake Villa, IL.

Fitchrona EMS had responded to Tyrol Basin, and was in the process of treating a patient in the back of the ambulance, when Pontillo got into the vehicle and drove around the parking lot.

Pontillo was subsequently arrested for Operating a Motor Vehicle Without Owners Consent, Disorderly Conduct, and Operating While Intoxicated. Pontillo also had two outstanding warrants from Kenosha County for Operating After Suspension and Failure to Notify Police of an Accident. He is currently being held in the Dane County Jail.

WKOW-TV Ch. 27 Madison filed this video report:

Posted by firegeezer on February 11, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos, ambulances, crime

Don’t Know How … Don’t Know When

HARRY SENT ME THIS PHOTO THE OTHER DAY of a Helsinki, Finland, ambulance that was apparently competing with a car for the same space.

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After some dedicated search, we never found out when this happened. We don’t even know who to credit the photo to. But everybody likes to look at the wrecks, so we’re posting the photo anyway in the hope that someone will be able to enlighten us on the incident.

Posted by firegeezer on February 10, 2010 • Filed under: Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, ambulances • Tagged: Helsinki ambulace, Helsinki Finland

Ambulance Rollover in North Dakota

A JAMESTOWN, NORTH DAKOTA, AMBULANCE was carrying a patient to Fargo Monday afternoon when it hit an icy patch on a bridge. It was traveling eastbound on I-94 and when it hit the ice it went out of control, did a complete rollover and landed on its wheels in the westbound lanes.

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Fargo Forum

The Fargo Forum reports:

The elderly male remained in the gurney when the ambulance turned over, but he did suffer a head injury from being struck with debris…

The two ambulance personnel in the back appeared to suffer head, neck and back injuries, (police) said. “They were tossed around pretty good,” he said.

All three were taken to MeritCare Hospital in Fargo. The extent of their injuries was unknown, but Hischer said all three were talking at the scene. The driver was not taken to the hospital.

There were a large number of accidents on the highway during that same time period, taxing the state police officers. Large stretches of it were covered with glare ice.

The Fargo Forum has the full STORY.

Posted by firegeezer on February 9, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, ambulances • Tagged: Fargo North Dakota, Jamestown North Dakota ambulance

Ambulance T-Bones Police Car

THE PHOENIX, ARIZONA, SUBURB OF AVONDALE was the scene of a pair of vehicle accidents Friday morning that took several public safety workers away from their duties for a while. It began when a private auto carrying two corrections officers to work was slammed into by a car that ran a red light.

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KTVK

While they were waiting for an ambulance to arrive, the ambulance and a police car that were both responding to the same accident had a collision with the ambulance crashing into the side of the cruiser as it was positioning to block traffic at the intersection.

The two corrections officers were transported with minor injuries. Three people in the SUV that crashed into them were uninjured. The ambulance wreck was a low-speed impact and there were no injuries there either.

KTVK has the video story:

Posted by firegeezer on February 6, 2010 • Filed under: Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos, ambulances

“Ambulance Driver” Soon To Be a Sign of the Past?

ONE WAY TO CUT BACK ON THE COSTS OF EMS delivery is to eliminate positions. It is possible that the duty of “ambulance driver” could be one of those cutbacks. Many inventions and innovations that benefit our society have begun as military projects and were developed and tested in demanding environments.

Currently undergoing field testing is an unmanned flying machine called the Air-Mule, that is capable of carrying a litter patient away from the battleground and back to a hospital.

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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who are working on this project, has just issued a report on this new vehicle. It says, in part:

The Air-Mule UAV which assists in medical evacuation has recently passed its initial flight tests. The new UAV, which weighs a ton, will be able to carry equipment and fly into complicated places, such as in urban areas and crevices. In addition to that, the Air-Mule takes off vertically, similar to a helicopter, and its stability will be guaranteed by a unique flight supervision system.

Urban Aeronautics, the company producing the UAV, is one of the world’s leading companies in the development of propellers which are installed inside the aircraft instead of outside. The advantage of this location of the propeller is that it allows the aircraft to carry out a wider range of operations in narrow places as well – as opposed to conventional airplanes and helicopters which can only operate in open areas.

“The number one cause of aerial accidents is damage caused to the rotor, and we managed to overcome this obstacle,” says the CEO of Urban Aeronautics, Dr. Rafi Yoeli.

The technologic devices included in the Air-Mule also give it additional abilities: Two laser sensors indicate the flight altitude, and a modern technology allows the operators to receive real time information on the motor activity of the aircraft. In addition, the secondary technology of the Air-Mule includes a communication device facilitating contact between the aircraft and its operators on the ground.

During the tests, the Air-Mule succeeded in overcoming difficult weather conditions, and the test team was very satisfied with its flight abilities during a storm that occurred at the test area. The Air-Mule is currently undergoing additional tests further examining its stability and its ability to fly between two previously defined locations.

Here is an animated video showing the projected use of the Air-Mule in combat conditions:

This video shows a sub-scale mock-up vehicle being flown at Urban’s facility:

This video records the first prototype engine test last Spring:

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Posted by firegeezer on February 1, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos, aircraft, ambulances, labor • Tagged: air ambulance, Air-Mule, ambulance driver, Israel Defence Forces

Another New Tool For the Ambulance

VISITORS TO AUSTRIA’S SKI RESORTS who injure themselves are being treated with a new tool installed in the ambulances, a credit card swipe pad.

AFP is reporting:

A German tourist who injured himself while skiing in the Tyrolean Alps this month said he was asked to swipe his bank card before he could be treated, local radio ORF reported Friday.

“During the ambulance ride, the crew started pushing buttons and then they said: ‘Sorry but we have to charge you 230 euros (320 dollars) now,’” said the 45-year-old holidaymaker from Berlin. “They were obviously very embarrassed.”

Austrian emergency services defended the measure, saying it was often difficult to track down payment from foreign tourists once they had returned home.

Most of the ambulances are now equipped with the machine, they say.

Firegeezer has a suggestion for refinement to this practice. Instead of subjecting the ambulance crew to the embarrassment of asking for payment, the emegency dispatch call-taker could be getting all this information over the phone while the victim is waiting for the ambulance. Not only would all that unpleasant stuff be done by the time care began, thus saving time, but it would help time pass more quickly while awaiting the ambulance. And if the patient doesn’t have the resources to pay for the service, then the ambulance could be turned around and sent back to quarters before they even get to the slopes. Better order your Visa/MasterCard decals for the passenger compartment door now.

Posted by firegeezer on January 31, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, ambulances • Tagged: Austria Emergency Services, credit card swipe pad

Ambulance Crashes Going Through Red Light

A FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS, AMBULANCE was responding to an emergency call Tuesday afternoon when it traveled through an intersection against the red light. An automobile on the cross street struck the ambulance, causing it to run off the road and into a driveway where it struck two parked cars.

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WPRI-TV image

Three eyewitnesses and the driver of the car involved all say that the ambulance had its flashing lights on, but the siren was not sounding. WPRI-TV has this video report on the crash:

Posted by firegeezer on January 29, 2010 • Filed under: Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos, ambulances • Tagged: Fall River Massachusetts ambulance

Ambulance Crashes During Illegal Response

AN AMBULANCE IN CAPE MAY COUNTY, NEW JERSEY, CRASHED into a car Tuesday afternoon while being driven by a person who was responding to a fire without being dispatched.

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Cape May Herald / Joe Hart

The driver of the Middle Township Ambulance heard the fire dispatch for a fire at his father’s house, so he got into the ambulance with another man and sped away without any authorization. When he was just two blocks from the fire scene he collided with an SUV, entrapping and injuring the driver and injuring the passenger of the ambulance. The ambulance passenger only suffered minor injuries, but the driver of the SUV had to be airlifted to the hospital.

It turned out that the ambulance driver’s father died in the fire that he was responding to.

The Press of Atlantic City has the details HERE.

This video of the crash scene was posted by Harry Scheeler, Jr.

Posted by firegeezer on January 27, 2010 • Filed under: Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos, ambulances • Tagged: ambulance crash, Cape May County New Jersey, Middle Township Ambulance Corps

Chicago Donates Ambulances to Haiti Relief Effort

THE CITY OF CHICAGO HAS REFURBISHED THREE recently-retired ambulances and is sending them to Haiti as part of the relief efforts.

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The three units were overhauled and refurbished at the city’s expense and then private donors completed the effort by stocking them medical supplies, baby wipes, bicycles, bottled water and blankets. WBBM reports:

Off-duty fire personnel are driving them to Miami, Fla., for transport to Haiti, and will train Haitian personnel in their use. (Mayor) Daley said two of the ambulances will be used by Hospital St. Croix, in Leogane, near Port-au-Prince, to transport patients, while volunteer firefighters will be given the third ambulance to transport patients to all area hospitals.

Daley said the city is paying the cost of gas to get the ambulances to Florida. He said that donors are picking up all other costs associated with the transport, including food and hotels for the drivers.

Posted by firegeezer on January 25, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, ambulances, charity • Tagged: Chicago Fire Department ambulance, Haiti, medical supplies

Ambulance Crashes Into Building

brockton a WFXT

A TRANSPORT AMBULANCE CARRYING A DIALYSIS PATIENT collided with car at a Brockton, Massachusetts, intersection Friday morning. The crash sent the ambulance into the corner of a store causing sustantial damage.

The accident happened around 6 am this morning. The drivers of the two vehicles were uninjured, but the patient and one other undentified passenger had minor injuries.

WFXT-TV has file this raw video taken from their news helicopter:

Posted by firegeezer on January 22, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos, ambulances • Tagged: ambulance crash, Brockton Massachusetts, intersection

Ex-Paramedics Nabbed for Stealing Drugs

TWO FORMER PARAMEDICS FROM SANTA FE, TEXAS, were arrested Tuesday night when they were caught in the act of burglarizing an ambulance in the station where they used to work. It is believed that they were trying to plunder the controlled-drug box.

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Amanda Grigg (left) and Heather Bemrose

Amanda Grigg and Heather Bemrose started their adventure Tuesday evening by calling in a fake 9-1-1 report for a man down. They deliberately reported it in a manner that would upgrade the call to a joint police and ems response because the police station is across the street from the ambulance station. After the dispatch, the women entered the station and started to break into the drug box. As it turned out, the ambulance returned sooner than they were expecting and the crew interrupted their activity.

KRIV-TV Ch. 7 Houston prepared this video report:

Grigg has been charged with burglary of a motor vehicle, possession of dangerous drugs and false alarm or report. She’s being held on $8,000 bond. Bemrose has been charged with burglary of a motor vehicle and false alarm or report. She’s being held on $6,500 bond.

The Galveston Daily News has the details HERE.

Santa Fe (Texas) Fire & Rescue WEBSITE.

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Santa Fe Rescue Station 1
(SFF&R website photo)

Posted by firegeezer on January 21, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Videos, ambulances, crime • Tagged: ambulance burglary, false 911 call, Santa Fe Texas

Ambulance Collision Injures Three

AN AMBULANCE IN NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, COLLIDED with a car that was merging from an exit ramp and may have been trying to cut across the lane. The Milford Ambulance was transporting a patient to the hospital with it’s lights and siren activated when it struck the automobile in the side.

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WMUR-TV

The two medics were transported for minor injuries, but the man driving the car suffered serious, yet non-life-threatening injuries. The patient was not injured as a result of the crash.

WMUR-TV has this video report on the accident:

Posted by firegeezer on January 18, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos, ambulances • Tagged: ambulance crash, Milford Ambulance, Nashua New Hampshire