An Ashcroft resident living within sight of the town91裸聊视频檚 ambulance station has died, after an ambulance took nearly half-an-hour to reach him.
It is the second time in less than a month that an Ashcroft resident in severe medical distress has had to wait nearly 30 minutes for an ambulance, despite the community having a 24/7 Alpha ambulance station. Both residents lived within half-a-block of the station.
Ashcroft Fire Rescue received a call from Kamloops Fire Dispatch at 8:42 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14, advising that a man had suffered an apparent heart attack and that the nearest ambulance was in Clinton and would take 35 minutes to arrive.
Fire Chief Josh White took the call, and advised that the fire department is a volunteer one, and members are not trained as medical first responders. However, as he has a Level 1 First Aid ticket he said that he would attend.
After grabbing the automated external defibrillator (AED) and gloves from the fire hall, he arrived on site at 8:58 a.m., closely followed by three other firefighters who arrived in personal vehicles.
91裸聊视频淭he AED indicated no pulse, and never called for a shock,91裸聊视频� says White. 91裸聊视频淗owever, it was evident he had only recently gone down when we arrived, and I couldn91裸聊视频檛 say if he was dead or alive at that point.91裸聊视频�
A neighbour produced security cam footage which showed the man walking his dog in an alleyway off Elm Street, directly across from the ambulance station. The footage shows the man collapsing at 8:21 a.m.
White says that firefighters and a neighbour performed CPR until the ambulance arrived at 9:11 a.m. 91裸聊视频淎mbulance paramedics got their equipment going and did all they could do, but after a little while they called it.91裸聊视频�
White attended the scene on July 17, when an Ashcroft resident who had gone into cardiac arrest had to wait for an ambulance to arrive. That incident happened less than 200 metres from where the Aug. 14 incident took place.
91裸聊视频淲e were half-a-block from the ambulance station,91裸聊视频� says White. 91裸聊视频淲e could see it from where we were.
91裸聊视频漇omething91裸聊视频檚 not right. That91裸聊视频檚 another person we91裸聊视频檝e lost in our community.91裸聊视频�
White says he gets angry when Ashcroft Fire Rescue gets these calls.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not what we typically do, but as Good Samaritans we have that conscience where we have to go.
91裸聊视频淚t tears me in half. I can91裸聊视频檛 keep making this decision time and time and time again. I91裸聊视频檓 always going to go 91裸聊视频� I have that first aid ticket 91裸聊视频� but I don91裸聊视频檛 want to be that person, because it puts me in a really bad place. I got that ticket to look after co-workers, not the whole community.
91裸聊视频淚f I know something is happening in town I91裸聊视频檓 obligated to go, and it91裸聊视频檚 tough mentally, because I91裸聊视频檓 going to people I know or people I see in the community.91裸聊视频�
Following other recent instances in B.C. where people in medical distress have faced long ambulance waits 91裸聊视频� including an incident in Surrey on Aug. 4 where a man died of self-inflicted knife wounds while waiting half-an-hour for an ambulance 91裸聊视频� there have been calls for more firefighters, both volunteer and career, to be trained as medical first responders. White says this is not the answer.
91裸聊视频淭his isn91裸聊视频檛 in our scope of operations. We can91裸聊视频檛 budget for the training and equipment needed to fill this gap that BC Ambulance seems to be leaving us with. I don91裸聊视频檛 fault or blame our local ambulance paramedics, but if we ran our fire halls like this people would be really upset.91裸聊视频�
He adds that it is not just a question of the necessary money and the training, especially for volunteer firefighters.
91裸聊视频淎 lot of people who come into our fire hall didn91裸聊视频檛 sign up to be paramedics or even medical first responders. If they wanted that they91裸聊视频檇 be paramedics. They wanted to be firefighters and deal with structure fires.
91裸聊视频淪ome knew they wanted to do highway rescue, but it91裸聊视频檚 not mandatory, because it91裸聊视频檚 not for everyone. Those are high impact instances where you91裸聊视频檙e seeing pretty traumatic stuff, and it takes a toll over time.91裸聊视频�
He adds that with 98 per cent of the highway rescue calls Ashcroft Fire Rescue responds to, they don91裸聊视频檛 know the victims.
91裸聊视频淚f we91裸聊视频檙e being medical first responders in our own community, not everyone will want to do that, as it will take a mental toll. These are people we truly know. We91裸聊视频檒l always be there to help these people out, but from the medical end of it I could be called to my mom91裸聊视频檚 house or a co-worker91裸聊视频檚 house, and this isn91裸聊视频檛 something I could deal with day in and day out.
91裸聊视频淢entally, it will fatigue us to a whole new level. When it91裸聊视频檚 people we know it hurts even more. It91裸聊视频檚 a huge mental weight.91裸聊视频�
White also believes that having fire departments go the medical first responder route is an 91裸聊视频渆asy way out91裸聊视频� for BC Emergency Health Services.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a cheap fix for them. 91裸聊视频極h, firefighters can bandage up that arm and we don91裸聊视频檛 have to send a truck.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
White adds that in his more than 20 years on Ashcroft Fire Rescue he has never seen a situation like this.
91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 know what to do at this point. We didn91裸聊视频檛 join up to do this. We91裸聊视频檒l always back up our brothers and sisters in the ambulance service, but for most of us it falls outside our scope. The call volume will go up and up, and we91裸聊视频檒l be asking more and more of our volunteers.91裸聊视频�
White says that as fire chief he wants to be there to help the community, but putting additional pressure on fire departments is not the answer or the solution.
91裸聊视频淲e have ambulances here in B.C. for a reason. If we91裸聊视频檙e going to look to volunteer and career fire departments to do this, why do we have ambulances?
91裸聊视频淢edical first response is not in our purview. We91裸聊视频檒l keep going to assist on these calls until BC Ambulance gets its shit straight, but it will take its toll on us.91裸聊视频�
editorial@accjournal.ca
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