Wednesday, July 11, 2007

** BC Ambulance dispatcher says medic deaths preventable

** Province monitoring potential Calgary EMS strike

** Memorial service held for military med-evac soldier

CANADA NEWS

** The BC Ambulance dispatcher, who sent two Kimberley paramedics on the call that killed them, said their lives might have been saved had he heard the help hail correctly. That is the word from the Globe and Mail (Armina Ligaya/July 10) which quoted Brad Wild’s testimony at the coroner’s inquest into the matter Monday. Wild said he believed the 911 call from Robert Newcombe to send assistance to the Sullivan mine was for an outdoor drowning. Newcombe made the call after discovering consultant Doug Erickson’s body in a shed. The two, along with medics Kim Weitzel and Shawn Currier, perished May 17, 2006 after entering the oxygen deprived enclosure. Wild, who said the dispatch centre was chronically understaffed, also blamed noise and overcrowding for his mistake. His testimony, however, has puzzled some attending the inquest. According to the newspaper, a replay of the 911 tape from the call clearly indicated Erickson was discovered in a sampling shaft, face down in some water. In another startling development, questions have been raised as to what actually killed the four. Though B.C.’s chief inspector of mines Fred Hermann said it was depleted air containing less than six per cent oxygen that caused rapid unconsciousness and death, fire department testimony could paint a different picture. Air samples taken by firefighters determined traces of hydrogen sulphide were present at the scene.

** The province of Alberta is apparently carefully monitoring the situation when it comes to a potential Calgary EMS strike. That is the word from AM 770 (July 10) which quoted Premier Ed Stelmach as saying several options are being considered to prevent the walkout. Stelmach declined to elaborate, but did say an essential service declaration for medics is not yet on the table. Practitioners have already filed for a strike vote which could see industrial action begin as early as next Monday.

UNITED STATES NEWS

** A memorial service for fallen Fort Carson, Colorado military medic Sgt. William E. Brown was held Monday. The Gazette (Tom Roeder/July 10) said Brown, a member of the Company C 2nd Battalion 227th Aviation Regiment, died June 23 in a mortar attack in Iraq. A crew chief onboard the UH-60 Black Hawk air ambulance choppers, he was killed after a bomb exploded at his base in Taji. He was engaged in routine maintenance work at the time. Trained as a mechanic, he also undertook first aid duties. He leaves a wife and two children behind.