Two EMT's Airlifted Out

A FIRST MED AMBULANCE COLLIDED WITH a delivery truck near Kinston, North Carolina, Wednesday evening.  Both vehicles then went off the road with the ambulance taking out an electric pole and ending upside down.

Kinston Free Press

The two ambulance attendants were both airlifted by EastCare to a hospital in Pitt County.  The driver of the delivery truck had minor injuries and was not transported.  There was no patient in the ambulance.

State Police say that the two vehicles were traveling north in adjoining lanes when the ambulance made a lane change in front of the truck, but misjudged his move and clipped the truck, triggering the accident.  The wreck cause a power outage to 3,000 customers for about five hours.

Kinston Free Press

Police say that charges are pending against the ambulance driver.

The Kinston Free Press has the full STORY HERE.
WITN-TV has a video REPORT.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Patient On Board

A COUNTY AMBULANCE SERVICE unit was on a non-emergency patient transport Friday afternoon in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, when it collided with a car and was knocked onto its side.

Berkshire Eagle

The Berkshire Eagle reports:

Pittsfield Police Officer Marc Maddalena said a green 2002 Volvo station wagon traveling west on Lakeway Drive drove through a stop sign and broadsided a County Ambulance unit headed south on Valentine at about 1:45 p.m.

Police said the driver of the Volvo, Elizabeth Cosci, 49, of Pittsfield, is facing a civil citation for failing to stop. Cosci wasn't injured.

Berkshire Eagle

The three occupants of the ambulance, two medics and a patient, were all taken to Berkshire Medical Center, where they were treated and released, police said.

The Berkshire Eagle also posted this raw video taken at the scene:

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Roundup Creates Gap in Work Schedule

TWO CHEROKEE COUNTY, GEORGIA, FIREFIGHTERS were arrested separately this week and charged with a variety of drug crimes involving fire department ambulances.  Both men are employed by the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's office first announced on Wednesday that Johnathan Wayne Thomas, of Canton has been charged with Sell of Hydrocodone, Felony Possession of Marijuana, Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance, among several other charges.  He is being held without bond.

Agents arrested the 34-year-old at his home Wednesday afternoon, after an undercover investigation determined he was linked to the crime. Cherokee Sheriff’s Lt. Jay Baker said Thomas had access to the vials because of the nature of his job. Additional investigation details will be released at a later time, Baker said.

Johnathan Thomas (left) and Jarad Jones

The Sheriff's department announced that a second firefighter with the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services was arrested today (Thursday). Jarad Jones, 25 years old of Canton, turned himself in at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center Thursday afternoon. Jones is charged with Felony Theft by Taking.

Jones is accused of stealing Fentanyl, a liquid pain killer, from a Cherokee County Ambulance in 2011. Investigators believe Jones stole the Fentanyl on more than one occasion and that the drug was used for his personal use. Jones’ bond is set at $5,700.00.

Canton-Sixes Patch tells more about the crimes and arrests:

The illegal drug use came to light on Sunday during a routine inspection of ambulances in the county. Garrison credited changes in the fire department with bringing the activity to the attention of authorities.

Restructuring within the agency put new personnel in fire stations and "new eyes on some of these ambulances," Garrison said. Those individuals "saw things that just didn't appear to be correct in these inventory processes," he said.

This past Sunday, Cherokee County fire officials reported their observations to the Cherokee Sheriff's Office, which investigated the incident in conjunction with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Tim Cavender said in a statement.

An undercover operation was conducted, and Thomas was arrested at his home Wednesday afternoon following a search warrant at the location. Thomas has been with the fire department for three years. He has no previous disciplinary infractions in his files.

Read the complete article in the Patch HERE.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Just Blew Right Through It

A BLAINE, WASHINGTON, MAN WAS CHARGED Wednesday with failure to stop after he drove through a stop sign and crashed into an ambulance that was crossing the intersection. 

Bellingham Herald

The Bellingham Herald reports:

The North Whatcom Fire and Rescue ambulance was returning from a call about 3:25 p.m. when a Ford Edge ran through a stop sign at the intersection of Kickerville and Bay roads, clipping the ambulance, said North Whatcom Division Chief Henry Hollander.

The collision whipped the ambulance 180 degrees and sent it careening into a ditch on Bay Road. The crash crumpled the driver’s side of the SUV and smashed its windshield.

Bellingham Herald

Both of the firefighters on the ambulance and the SUV's driver Timothy Howe, 56, were transported with non-life threatening injuries.  All three were wearing seat belts and alcohol is not a factor in the incident.

Read the full story in the Bellingham Herald HERE.
North Whatcom Fire and Rescue WEBSITE.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Had Patient on Board

AN EAST OF ENGLAND AMBULANCE SERVICE ambulance collided with a van Friday morning while carrying a patient en route to a hospital.  The ambulance went into a ditch and rolled over in the 10:25 am accident.

BBC News image

The ambulance was running with lights and siren when the accident happened and there were three employees in the unit along with the patient.  They had initially responded to the man's house for a call that he was unconscious.  One of the four passengers had to be extricated by the fire department, but it has not been divulged whether it was the patient or an EMT that was entrapped.

Authorities insist that the patient, who is in his 70's, remains in stable condition after being transported by a second ambulance.  It is not yet known what caused the accident, but an investigation is ongoing.

BBC News has the STORY.
The East Anglian Daily Times has MORE.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Edmonton EMS Expanding Rapidly

THE EDMONTON, ALBERTA, EMS HAS IMMEDIATE openings for several paramedics and EMT's with still more coming online in the near future.  The need for additional resources including ambulances, stations, and medics to operate them, has come about for several reasons.  The Calgary Herald describes a few of them:

The median response time in the past two years for so-called "lights and sirens" ambulance calls increased to eight minutes and 13 seconds from seven minutes.

EMTLife.com photo

Health Minister Fred Horne announced Tuesday that five additional paramedics and 12 emergency medical technicians have been hired this month, and that 14 more vacancies will be fast-tracked to get to full staffing levels as soon as possible.

He also said Alberta Health Services opened a new EMS station in northeast Edmonton on Jan. 17, and that five more are slated to open across the province between now and 2014, including one in the city's west end.

Horne said response times are longer because the population is growing and aging, with the result being EMS workers are responding to more calls than ever.  (The Herald adds:)  City ambulances responded to nearly 48,000 lights and sirens calls in 2010-11, a number expected to increase to more than 65,000 in 2011-12.

In addition, Alberta is continuing to suffer with overrun hospital emergency rooms creating situations where ambulances are forced to "store" their patients for long periods of time, as much as 45 minutes or longer, before they can take them from the ambulance into the hospital itself, thus keeping ambulances out of service for longer times.

In April 2009 all provincial EMS responsibilities were transferred from the localities to the province-wide Alberta Health Services which also oversees all hospital operations.  And as always happens when local activities are transferred to a giant, centralized government-run agency, the entire EMS network fell apart.  This has had a direct bearing on the ability of local EMS departments to function as well as they did previous to the consolidation.  This has also created the situation where paramedics are fleeing the Edmonton EMS to escape the stress and frustration that has crept into the organization.  A survey taken of Edmonton EMS employees in November showed that 2/3 of them are actively looking for employment elsewhere.

 The Edmonton Journal recently reported:

The Health Sciences Association of Alberta conducted a survey which was completed by 146 out of 304 eligible members of the union (in Edmonton).

It found that in the last four shifts completed by those workers:

— 86 per cent experienced a lack of resources, including no ambulances available for emergency calls, otherwise called a red alert.

— 72 per cent said they could not meet their response-time targets three or more times.

— 72 per cent had pending calls of more than one hour, sometimes up to four times.

"According to our survey respondents, the emergency ambulance service in the Edmonton metro zone is completely inadequate as it is and the vast majority of our respondents have raised their concerns to the attention of Alberta Health Services’ management but to no avail," reads the executive summary of the online survey, done between last Nov. 4 and 11. "We shouldn’t be surprised then that two-thirds of our respondents are seriously considering seeking employment elsewhere."

After seeing those results – that were taken by somebody else instead of them – Alberta Health Services sprung into action and announced that they are going to form (another) committee and start having meetings in February.

Read the entire Calgary Herald article HERE.
The Globe & Mail has MORE.
Read the damning report from the Edmonton Journal HERE.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Defining Deviancy Down:
 So Just What Constitutes a Firing Offense, Then?

A QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA, PARAMEDIC STILL HAS his job and nobody knows why.  The Courier-Mail is reporting today:

The 40-year-old paramedic was working near Rockhampton where he stole methoxyflurane – a non-opioid alternative to morphine often used for acute trauma – from the Queensland Ambulance Service in November 2010.

QAS suspended him a month later and court documents show he was convicted in Brisbane Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to "stealing as a servant" in April last year, receiving a $500 fine and five days' imprisonment.

Documents obtained by The Courier-Mail under Right to Information laws show he received a subsequent "formal reprimand" and demotion last June.

This recent disclosure has political groups, labor organizations and government officials in conniptions over why this convicted drug thief was allowed to keep his job.  The Queensland Ambulance Service is keeping mum about it though (so far).

The Courier-Mail has today's breaking story on this travesty HERE.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Special Deals From Amazon:

Big Markdowns on Automotive Tools and Equipment

CLICK HERE to find one just right for you and order.

Wagan Hi Speed Air Compressor
$30.10

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

You Really Ought to Slow Down on Icy Roads

A TOLEDO, OHIO, AMBULANCE WAS HEAVILY DAMAGED Saturday morning after a tractor-trailer jacknifed and crashed into the unit that was stopped at an accident scene.

WTVG-TV image

The incident was originally a one-car accident on I-75 where an SUV slid on the icy highway into a median, slightly injuring the driver.  A Toledo FD ambulance responded to the wreck and had just arrived on the scene when the tractor-trailer approaching the scene lost control on the ice and went into a jacknife slide into the ambulance.  The crash drove the ambulance down the road several yards and under the rear end of another trailer that was stopped.  The two firefighters that were in the ambulance received minor injuries as did three other people involved in the crash.

WTVG-TV Ch. 13 prepared this video report:

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

All You Need is an Ambulance

MERCHANTS ALONG East 34th STREET IN BROOKLYN, New York, got to wondering about an ambulance that was parked in front of an expired parking meter recently.  The vehicle that has ambulance markings, emergency light bars, and an ambulance license plate had been there several days when on January 6 a shopkeeper took a peek inside.

Joe Cartelli and the "lost" ambulance.  (Brooklyn Courier / Solomonson)

He found that it wasn't stocked with a patient cot and medical supplies, but instead contained a ladder and an assortment of construction materials.  The Brooklyn Courier continues:

"It’s in front of a parking meter, and it’s full of ladders, tool boxes and sawdust, but the meter maids and the cops pass it by," said Joe Cartelli, who owns VJ Discount Variety Store on E. 34th Street where the vehicle is parked. "They think it’s just an ambulance. People were coming in and asking me, ‘What’s up with the ambulance?’" Cartelli said. When the merchant went to check it out he saw power tools and ladders inside, but no gurneys or medical equipment.

Cops arrived on Jan. 10 and ran the plates, telling Cartelli that the vehicle was still registered as an ambulance. The cops slapped a summons on the vehicle, but didn’t have it towed.

"They told me there was nothing they could do," Cartelli said. "I guess they didn’t want to be bothered."

The ambulance hadn’t been towed (away) by Monday night. Cops from the 63rd Precinct say they are trying to find the vehicle’s owner and ensure that it hasn’t been reported stolen. Once that’s done, the vehicle will be taken away, a precinct community affairs officer explained.

Firegeezer supposes that there is a lesson there, but can't figure out what it is.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

"Sirens All Day … Sirens All Night … Sirens, Sirens, Sirens!"

RESIDENTS IN A FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, NEIGHBORHOOD who live across the street from the American Ambulance dispatch center say that their quality of life is in a shambles because of the incessant siren noise coming from the business.

KFSN-TV image

KSEE-TV continues:

Joe Morales took some home video, at about 3 am, of the ambulances across the street. He lives across the street from American Ambulance, near Tulare and Highway 41.

He's been there 30 years. He says when the sirens go off, he and his family lose sleep. He even left the camera rolling one night while he was sleeping to try and prove his point.

"24 hours a day, 7 days a week, non-stop! This is ridiculous!"

Morales wants to make it clear that he's not trying to stop American Ambulance from saving lives. He just wants the company to relocate.

It's been there 10 years. He says the employees are not abiding by company policies of neighborhood courtesy. "I got them at 3 o'clock in the morning, me and more neighbors playing with their sirens in the parking lot to say hi to each other."

For their part, American Ambulance says that they have worked with the neighbors in the past to try and alleviate the noise, but they are restricted by the law requiring them to use their sirens whenever they enter a major highway.  Their spokesman says that they do not run their sirens in the parking lot, not even to test them.

Several of the neighboring residents attended last night's city council session to present their complaint during the open session.  KFSN-TV posted a video report on the conflict:

*  *  *  *  *  *  *