Monday, August 24, 2009

** Donated ambulance found on bottom of ocean floor near Tonga

** New Brunswick adds GPS technology to ambulance fleet

UNITED STATES NEWS

** A California ambulance, donated to the tiny South Pacific nation of Tonga, has been found by underwater submersible at the bottom of the ocean. That is the word from Turnto23.com (August 20) which said the wreckage of the EMS unit was discovered upside down in 360 feet of water. The vehicle, which was being transported by ferry, went down with the ship carrying it during a early August storm. Dozens of people died in the accident. Richard Thompson, pastor of the church donating the rig, said its loss is a heavy one for the island where emergency medical services capability is rudimentary at best.

CANADA NEWS

** Ambulance brass in New Brunswick continue to upgrade the service, with the latest improvement involving GPS technology in units. The Daily Gleaner (Adam Bowie/August 21) said most of the provincial fleet should sport laptops with the devices by October. Related training for about 1,000 staff is now underway. Using English as the primary language for the software, French can also be employed separately;an attempt to run both languages simultaneously was not workable.