The Social Network & Community JUST for Firefighters
Some knuckleheads being... well, knuckleheads
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/hunterdon-county/express-times/inde...
A firetruck responding to a car crash call in Hunterdon County illegally passed an ambulance headed to the same wreck, forcing the ambulance into a ditch when the truck swerved to avoid an oncoming car, an ambulance official said.
Now the president of the Quakertown Volunteer EMS is calling two members of his squad "heroes" after the accident involving a Quakertown ambulance and a Quakertown Fire Company truck, both of which were responding to a one-car crash on Sidney Road.
He credited their training and quick response for preventing the accident from becoming "what could have been a huge disaster."
Peter Colby, 27, was driving and Laurie Luster was a passenger in the ambulance shortly after midnight Saturday when "they were illegally passed (by the fire truck) in a no-passing zone on Quakertown Road," president David Evans said.
Colby and Luster are employees of the Quakertown squad.
"To avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming car, the fire truck forced the... ambulance off the road into a ditch. The oncoming car was also forced off the road," Evans said
It is fortunate that the ambulance landed in the ditch, because it kept the rig from flipping over and prevented it from hitting a nearby utility pole, he said.
Kenneth Mandoli, Franklin Township director of public safety, said he couldn't release any information about the accident because it remains under investigation. He said his force is doing a probe, taking statements from about 14 people.
Evans said the oncoming car was driven by a Quakertown Fire volunteer, who was driving to the firehouse to respond to the call. Witnessing the accident was a township employee driving behind the ambulance, Evans said. "He saw everything."
A firetruck responding to a car crash call in Hunterdon County illegally passed an ambulance headed to the same wreck, forcing the ambulance into a ditch when the truck swerved to avoid an oncoming car, an ambulance official said.
Now the president of the Quakertown Volunteer EMS is calling two members of his squad "heroes" after the accident involving a Quakertown ambulance and a Quakertown Fire Company truck, both of which were responding to a one-car crash on Sidney Road.
He credited their training and quick response for preventing the accident from becoming "what could have been a huge disaster."
Peter Colby, 27, was driving and Laurie Luster was a passenger in the ambulance shortly after midnight Saturday when "they were illegally passed (by the fire truck) in a no-passing zone on Quakertown Road," president David Evans said.
Colby and Luster are employees of the Quakertown squad.
"To avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming car, the fire truck forced the... ambulance off the road into a ditch. The oncoming car was also forced off the road," Evans said
It is fortunate that the ambulance landed in the ditch, because it kept the rig from flipping over and prevented it from hitting a nearby utility pole, he said.
Kenneth Mandoli, Franklin Township director of public safety, said he couldn't release any information about the accident because it remains under investigation. He said his force is doing a probe, taking statements from about 14 people.
Evans said the oncoming car was driven by a Quakertown Fire volunteer, who was driving to the firehouse to respond to the call. Witnessing the accident was a township employee driving behind the ambulance, Evans said. "He saw everything."
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
-
Relax PJ....Damnthing's comment is tongue in cheek. It is difficult to pick up sarcasm on such forums, but this isn't a shot at volunteers. Westphilly is another poster who likes to make little comments like that by saying "damn paid firefighters" and it is all tongu in cheek.
-
Permalink Reply by Loyd Dittfurth on
-
i wouldnt come back to the station if I did that i would make somone else drive back and i would walk home and quit if i was stupid enough to do that
-
Permalink Reply by Marvin Hawk on
-
Having played in both sand boxes I am reminded of my agreement with the local electrical service provider. They don't play with fire and we wont play with the electric..... (especially after attending their This is what can happen to you if you don't play nice with electric class.) I would say that unless the EMS side of the house knows how to do V.E's. and carries all the tools to do it then they need the F.D. Unless the F.D. is equipped to do all the Patient care including trauma, not to mention transport, (other than duck taped to the hose bed.) then they need EMS. I think that once the cooler heads get together this will be made abundantly clear to all involved.
-
Permalink Reply by Anita King on
-
The sad thing here is that the people who needed help had to wait. They didn't get the help they needed in a timely manner because someone didn't take the time to THINK AND BE SAFE!!!! It really doesn't make sense in any way. We are all supposed to be serving the people of our community, whether we are paid or volunteer. If we don't make it to the scene, we have just become a part of the problem. And in this case, cast a bad light on all our fellow firefighters or ems workers. You can have a great department that is doing a great job and it only takes one incident like this to turn the tide of public opinion against you and others in your area. We have to think and be safe.
-
Permalink Reply by Douglas Crowell, Jr. on
-
Myself, I don't care how it was dispatched, they are all going to the same incident. The squad needs to be there just as bad as the FD. It dosen't matter who beats who.
If the accident had not happened, how much time would the FD saved by passing EMS? Even if this action saved them 1 or 2 minutes, the benefit is just not worth the risk.
Hopfully managenent is taking care of this issue quickly.
Stay Safe!!
-
Permalink Reply by Patrick J Cronen on
-
Good to read thanks for letting me know.. Have a great day..
-
Permalink Reply by blair4630 on
-
That would be an unprofessional way to fire someone as a boss, but if I was in the ambulance run into a ditch by this wacker, I think my response to him when we met up would have to be bleeped out.
-
Permalink Reply by SmallTownFirefighter on
-
First and foremost, to steal a line from Law Enforcement, to protect and serve. Life Safety should be at the forefront of every response we make. Our time is not important, those needing our assistance are important. Ok, considering our response time, and the distance to this call, how much sooner are we going to get there by driving wrecklessly? (W added for emphasis.) It does not matter what we were passing, (IE: POV, Dump Truck, School Bus, Granny going to Church, or other responders.) what matters is how we operate the equipment we are entrusted to respond with. From the parts of the article listed above, the only people on the road were responders, some in appuratus, some in POVs, all trying to get to the same call. But again, the problem is how "we" (the entire brotherhood) operate the response vehicles. Due regard for the safety of all persons and property. Passing anything where is it is possible to run an oncoming vehicle off the road or hit it head on is irresponsible. Forget the rift between the services, and these two volunteer organizations in particular, think about the situation. Was the driver so intent on beating the ambulance to the call that he was blinded in his operation of the engine? For heavens sake, the golden hour is relevent, but not getting there, and in this case taking out one other responding vehicle, and two additional POVs responding, how is that helping the arguement regarding response. I think we all should take a look at this and remind ourselves why we are here, what are our intention for each call, and what would best serve the people of the community. Just a reminder, being a volunteer does mean you are not a highly qualified responder, it just means you are not compensated for your time. No wage, but plenty of reward. As I have said many times, the citizens do not care what your wage is when they call 911, but they do care what your qualifications are. The citizens do want you to have a caring, confident, supportitve, attitude with the knowledge to help them resolve their situation. How we respond is a big part of how the community sees us. Do you really want to be known as the redneck boys coming with a garden hose to spray and play, or do you want to be known as the unpaid Community supported professional response organization?
-
Permalink Reply by Timothy Crowell on
-
Does it really matter who gets there first? My department runs fire and rescue, and in my experience, its almost better for the squad to get there first. They can prep the pt for extrication, which can be lengthy at times, plus stabalize the pt if criticaly injured. But I don't know if in this story if the engine was an ALS engine. Point is, we all work together, drop the old school "pride" and start working as a team!
-
Permalink Reply by Nathan Stanaway on
-
I dont understand why anyone would pass another emergency vehicle both going the same speed to the same incident. It doesn't say who was going faster but Im not sure that Ive seen an engine go faster than an ambulance. (size issue) The pass was undoubtedly performed by someone trying to "one up" someone else. Sad, plain ole sad. One day we"ll all play nice with each other, maybe.
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- Next ›
© 2024 Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief.
Powered by
