[Scan-DC] D.C. FIRE/EMS RUN ON APRIL 2, 2008

[JOHN ANTONELLI]

Did anyone get to the Mall Wednesday and do you have
pics?
--- John Bacon <scan-dc at djbitz.com> wrote:

> Here is my thought. In Massachusetts the 911 system
> displays the callers
> location on a map. Humph. Smart Idea. Well why not
> having that be xmitted to
> the responding unit's MDT/Laptop. And add GPS to it
> to let them know where
> they are in relation to the incident.
> 
> It does not take a genius to think of that.
> 
> JOHN
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf
> Of Alan Henney
> Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 11:17 PM
> To: Scan DC
> Subject: [Scan-DC] D.C. FIRE/EMS RUN ON APRIL 2,
> 2008
> 
> 
> Adrian M. Fenty, Mayor     Dennis L. Rubin, Fire
> Chief
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          CONTACT: PIO
> 202.673.3331
> 
> On Wednesday April 2, 2008, at approximately 1 PM,
> the District of
> Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services
> Department experienced a
> delay in locating a patient on a medical response
> call.  Sadly, this
> patient died later that afternoon at Howard
> University Hospital.
> Following completion of an operational review, any
> appropriate
> remedial and/or disciplinary action will be taken as
> necessary.
> 
> "It is the goal of the District of Columbia
> Government to provide
> prompt and efficient care to all persons in need,
> and we deeply regret
> our failure to immediately locate this patient,"
> said Chief Dennis
> Rubin.  "A review of this incident is underway.  Our
> initial finding
> is that the first-arriving Fire/EMS resource made an
> operational error
> that we believe was the primary cause of the delay
> in locating the
> patient."
> 
> The following is a brief summary of events:
> 
> . Engine Company 6 and Medic 1 were dispatched to
> #10 G St., NE at
> 13:07:36 for a 3rd party 911 call reporting an adult
> male having a
> possible seizure.   Engine 6 was 0.9 miles from that
> location, and
> Medic 1 was 2.73 miles away.
> 
> . Engine 6 arrived at what they thought was the
> location of the call
> within 4 minutes and 15 seconds.
> 
> . Engine 6 spent a minimum of 1 minute 49 seconds
> searching the block
> for a patient.  They were unable to locate a
> patient.  Engine 6 called
> the Office of Unified Communications by radio
> requesting clarification
> on the address and asking that the 911 caller be
> called back.  The
> Office of Unified Communications (OUC) notified
> Engine 6 that the
> patient was reported to be in front of #10 G St.,
> NE.  The OUC also
> called back the original 911 caller and received a
> voice mail message.
> 
> . Upon being informed that there was no answer from
> the call-back, and
> after notifying the OUC that they were unable to
> locate a patient
> after checking the entire unit block (of what they
> thought was G St.,
> NE), Engine 6 placed themselves in service at
> 13:14:09.
> 
> . The Office of Unified Communications received an
> additional phone
> call from the original 911 caller that now suggested
> the patient was
> no longer breathing.  The call-taker initiated
> pre-arrival CPR
> instructions.
> 
> . Within two minutes of Engine 6 going in service,
> the additional
> information received by the OUC led to a re-dispatch
> of Engine 6 and
> Medic 1, at 13:16:09.  Engine 6 was still in the
> general vicinity and
> promptly returned to the scene.  Medic 1, which had
> been placed in
> service, had continued their travel towards the
> area.
> 
> . Upon approaching the scene the second time, Engine
> 6 realized that
> they had mistakenly been in the unit block of G Pl.,
> NE during their
> initial response, rather than the unit block of G
> St., NE (one block
> away).  They entered the correct block this time, at
> approximately
> 13:19:03, and immediately began resuscitation
> efforts on the patient.
> Medic 1 arrived at approximately 13:21:43. Two EMS
> supervisors
> responding to the report of CPR in progress also
> arrived, at 13:23:38
> and 13:24:33.
> 
> The total elapsed time from when Fire/EMS was
> dispatched to when the
> first basic life support (BLS) resource reached the
> patient was
> approximately 11 minutes, 27 seconds. The total
> elapsed time to
> arrival of the first advanced life support unit
> (ALS) was
> approximately 14 minutes, 6 seconds.
> 
> Upon arrival, Fire/EMS delivered appropriate
> pre-hospital care.
> Despite the aggressive efforts of a team that
> included a paramedic,
> seven emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and two
> paramedic
> supervisors, the patient did not respond to clinical
> interventions.
> The total elapsed time from the placement of the
> first 911 call to
> delivery of the patient to Howard University
> Hospital was
> approximately 34 minutes, 15 seconds. The patient
> was pronounced dead
> at Howard University Hospital and the Office of the
> Chief Medical
> Examiner is performing an autopsy.
> 
> The Fire/EMS Department response time goal for
> critical medical calls
> is to deliver an EMT with a defibrillator within 6
> minutes 30 seconds
> of dispatch, and a paramedic within 8 minutes of
> dispatch.  The
> District is currently meeting these performance
> targets 91.4% and
> 89.6% of the time, respectively.  On this call,
> however, we failed to
> meet our performance goal. This incident underscores
> the need for
> modern navigational technology in all emergency
> response vehicles.
> The District is currently in the process of
> implementing a Mobile Data
> Computer (MDC) system in emergency vehicles that
> will provide
> real-time navigational assistance to emergency
> responders to help
> prevent errors such as the one that appears to have
> occurred on this
> call.  These devices are currently being installed
> in over 1,000
> public safety vehicles during Fiscal Year 2008 and
> 2009 as a
> District-wide initiative.  As a result: dispatching,
> mapping and
> routing, navigation, and many other critical
> functions of emergency
> response will be significantly enhanced and
> improved.
> 
> ###
> 
> 1923 Vermont Avenue, NW  Washington, DC  20005 
> Telephone: (202)
> 673-3331  Fax: (202) 673-3188
> 
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