Monday, November 5, 2007

** Winnipeg, Manitoba paramedics save life of fire victim

** Qatar EMS instructors harassed by college management

CANADA NEWS

** Two Winnipeg, Manitoba paramedics are being credited with saving the life of a man, after the duo rescued a senior from a housefire. The Winnipeg Sun (Shannon VanRaes/November 2) said Denise McKendry and James Neufeld rushed into action last Thursday around 4 a.m. while returning from a run to St. Boniface Hospital. Seeing flames sprouting from a Wellington Crescent residence, the two also heard resident Miro Procaylo call for help. After kicking in the door, McKendry then crawled through the smoke filled house to locate and drag Procaylo to safety. He was taken to hospital, treated and released. Neufeld, meanwhile, declined cudos for his part in the rescue, instead dubbing McKendry the real hero.

QATAR NEWS

** EMS and other instructors toiling at the College of the North Atlantic are apparently being harassed by on-site management. That is the word from CBC News (October 31) which said two consultants have now been hired to deal with the situation. According to the news service, western workers of the Labrador based college have said they are being demeaned by the administration. An anonymous survey of the institution’s 525 instructors discerned the difficulties. An email obtained by the CBC quoted college vice-president and Qatar project overseer Kevin Baker as saying the environment was repressive and the moist poisonous he has seen in his career. Following the work of the consultants, a second survey will be conducted to determine how well improvements are working.