Monday, February 21, 2011

** US Senate passes bill extending death and disability benefits to volunteer/non profit EMS responders

** South African ambulance used as lead getaway car in daring daylight bank heist

UNITED STATES NEWS

** The US Senate has now passed a bill authorizing death and disability payments to EMS responders who work for volunteer or non profit ambulance services. That is the word from the Bennington Banner (Neal P. Goswami/February 17) which said the Dale Long Emergency Medical Service Provider Protection Act got the go ahead from the upper house Thursday. According to the newspaper, the statute is an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration Bill and is part of the Public Safety Officers Benefits (PSOB) program. Prior to the passage, only responders working for government agencies at the federal, state, or local level were eligible. The law’s namesake, Dale Long, was an EMT with non-profit Bennington Rescue when he died in a June 2009 ambulance crash.

SOUTH AFRICA NEWS

** A group of seven Gauteng bank robbers managed to evade police Thursday by using a hijacked ambulance as their lead getaway car. The Independent (Graeme Hosken/February 18) said the Tembisa heist, which took place at a mall based bank branch, played out with the thieves setting upon their target just after the site opened up in the morning. Once loaded with some R300 000, they exited the bank into a white VW Polo and a white BMW;a lit up ambulance, with sirens blaring, cleared traffic for the robbers who kept close behind. Police spokesman Captain Manyadaza Ralidzhivha said the clever strategy has so far stymied police. The robbers, meanwhile, remain at large.