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.

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Some Good Postings From Other Fire/EMS Websites We Recommend

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*  Dave at STATter911 carried the story – and video report – about the weird incident where a firefighter who ran a medical assist call entered the home and immediately recognized a lot of the items around the living room.  They had been burgled from his home a week earlier.  Read this "small world" report HERE.

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*  Bill Carey at the Backstep Firefighter does a serious critique on a search-and-rescue fail that occurred recently HERE.

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*  The Fire Critic, Rhett Fleitz is a bit puzzled by the activity in New York City to try and recruit people who don't even have the simple ability to fill out an employment application HERE.

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*  Michael Morse of Rescuing Providence thinks out loud about the impending bankruptcy of the city he works for HERE.

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*  Bill Gabbert at Wildfire Today informs us about a cockamamie scheme an "environmental scientist" has come up with to reduce wildland grass fires by importing elephants and rhinoceroces to live in the wood near you.  Seriously.  As Bill says:  What could possibly go wrong?  Read it HERE.

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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:

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Sunday Morning – Where Do We Land?

Everybody is aware of the ineptitude of centralized government when it comes to getting things done efficiently.  Instead of allowing professionals to build or operate complex projects, the legislature or council will try and do it on their own (usually because they want the big contracts to go to their friends).  I don't know what the motives or origins of the design work for a new children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia were, but the results are familiar.  The new Royal Children's Hospital was built by the state government to replace an old, outmoded building and they laid out more than $1 billion for it.  That's right, a billion dollars (Aus.) for one hospital.

After it was built last year, it was found that the roof-top helipad is inadequate for some instances, primarily weather changes and weight limits.  The old hospital a few blocks away had its helipad on the ground and weight limits were never  consideration.  But apparently this new heliport which is on what appears to be a 5th-floor level, is right at the limit for a routine helicopter with crew and patient.  This being the state's primary children's hospital, it is also used frequently for advanced pediatric transports that require the hospital staff to load up equipment such as repirators, etc., along with a cadre of doctors and nurses.  But all that puts helicopter over the limit for safety on this roof.  (See article from The Age HERE.)

Currently their only alternative is to use the helipad at a hospital in Essenden which is a 25-minute drive (one-way) in the best of traffic conditions.  Rush hour and business day traffic will slow it down considerably, so that a mercy flight requiring the staft to travel out, retrieve, and return will require the staff to be gone from the hospital for more than two hours longer than should be. 

Another consideration overlooked is the occasional times that windy conditions prevent rooftop landings and a regulation that does not permit rooftop ops when the temperature goes over 30º C.  That has something to do with the air being "too thin," but I don't understand why you can take off in this thin air from the ground, but not from 50 ft. higher.  But then, that's government regulations for you.

Danger Zone photo by Joe Armao
for The Age newspaper.

So why not just build a new pad on the site of the old hospital which is only a couple of minutes away, to be used when the rooftop is unsafe?  Ohhh, noooo!!!   The old hospital grounds are designated to be turned into a park with valuable "green space" and when that alternative was advanced, the public outcry was politically deafening.  They just will not tolerate a playground and green area to be polluted with an occasional helicopter arriving to save an infant's life.  They have their priorities in Melbourne.

Right now our priority is to get this equipment checked out while cook gets the Sunday breakfast ready.  I'm going to make sure the Bunn-O-Matic is still operating at all temperatures.  See you back in the day room.

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Outside Bidders Excluded

A MISSOURI AMBULANCE DISTRICT OFFICIAL has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor insider information for a land-flip that he profited from in March 2011.  The president of Northland Regional Ambulance District in Platte County, Kevin Rawlings, 40, is accused of buying land and reselling it to his own ambulance authority knowing that they were planning on building a new station in the area.

Kevin Rawlings

The Kansas City Star reports:

According to court records, Rawlings purchased 34 acres in April 2010 for $130,000. He resold 1.5 acres to the ambulance district in March 2011 for $175,000.  Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said Thursday that Rawlings allegedly made $144,000 from the transaction.

Land that sold for $58,000 per acre  (NBC News)

There was no record that the agency had the land appraised at that time, court records stated. However, an appraisal in November 2011 put its worth at $30,600.

Rawlings was elected board president in 2006. He knew as early as 2008 that the district wanted to build a new station near Route U at the Camden Point exit.

According to the ambulance board minutes, Rawlings instructed the District's executive director to look for sites in the area where he had purchased the property.  When the Board "called" for bids, Rawlings was the only bidder.

The dubious activity first came to the taxpayers' attention back in March 2011 when NBC News filed this video report that detailed the entire transaction:

The Kansas City Star has more details HERE.
The St. Joseph News-Press has MORE.
Northland Regional Ambulance District WEBSITE.

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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.

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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.

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GPS smartphone app + ambucycles = immediate response

Among the high-minded discusion and topless protest at the World Economic Forum in Davos was a presentation by Eli Beer, Chief Coordinator of United Hatzalah (Rescue).

Creating a Network of Heros describes the process of empowering 1,700 volunteers in Israel to immediately respond to a life-threatening medical emergency.

United Hatzalah's ambucycles are a solution when ambulances that needs to arrive quickly to save lives are unable to travel through congested traffic.

The volunteers have an ambucycle with AED and first aid kit. They have a GPS application in their smart phone that displays the location of the emergency

From their website:

United Hatzalah of Israel is an independent non-profit fully volunteer Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Organization that assists in responding to medical emergencies throughout Israel.

The primary role of United Hatzalah volunteers – trained and certified as EMTs, Paramedics and MD’s – is to provide an immediate response within 2-4 minutes from the onset of an incident: establishing a life-saving bridge of medical care; transmitting vital information to control centers and once the local ambulance service arrives, working alongside its crew to enable a swift transfer to hospital. United Hatzalah's education department is an innovative leader in the fields of public health, safety and accident prevention training.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Some Good Stories From Fire/EMS Websites We Don't Want You to Miss

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*  STATter911 has some good video along with a description provided by a firefighter of a gas station fire in Alberta Monday night.  The entire shopping district of the small community apparently is constructed of wood-frame, unsprinklered building.  Check it out HERE.

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*  Green Maltese has an article about a new Dept.of Energy program that is directed towards fire and EMS agencies educating us about hazards found in incident involving alternative-fuel vehicles.  The best part?  The DOE is issuing free phone apps for alternative-fuel hazard references.  CLICK HERE and get the address to download yours.

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*  The Fire Critic (Rhett Fleitz) and the Iron Fireman (Willie Wines) joined up with Zach Green, owner of MN8 products (the FoxFire glow-in-the-dark stuff) to visit FDNY Rescue 2 and present checks combining donations to their Mayday Fund.  Rhett has a good write-up along with a photo gallery documenting their visit HERE.  Please make sure you check this one out.

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*  Chicago Area Fire has coverage of a multi-alarm EMS call with several people transported.  As always, their story is accompanied with an extensive and excellent photo gallery HERE.

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*  Wildfire Today has a story about Ollas, the primitive precursor to the tanker shuttle HERE.

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*  Firefighter Spot has posted a batch of videos documenting fires in Brooklyn HERE.

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Alcohol Was Involved

A FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AMBULANCE CREW had a harrowing moment Sunday night when they were suddenly attacked by a man wielding a shovel.  The two EMT's were at the door of an apartment in Bullskin waiting to be let in for a heart condition call.  While they were still in the hallway, a man charged out from another unit and began threatening them and saying he was going to get a gun and shoot them.

The EMT talks to a reporter from WTAE-TV

The attacker then grabbed a shovel that was leaning against the hallway wall and started to swing it at the EMT's.  By then they were able to gain access into the apartment where they closed the door and called for police assistance.  When they arrived, the police had to physically restrain the man who strongly smelled of alcohol.

Robert Shaner, 58, of Connellsville was arrested and charged with aggravated assault,  terroristic threats, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, harassment and public drunkenness.

The Daily Courier has the STORY.
WPXI has more details HERE.
WTAE-TV interviews the EMT in this VIDEO REPORT.

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