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This Week in EMS: A Recap for June 2 - 8, 2007
When a car plowed into a crowd of people at a busy Washington, D.C. street fair this weekend, EMS personnel sprang into action.
It happened at Unifest, a block party held every year Washington's historic Anacostia neighborhood, at about 7:45 p.m. The grey station wagon was going an estimated 60 mph when it came barreling down Martin Luther King Avenue, hit the crowd and kept going. Forty people were struck in the incident.
A contingent of EMS workers was already on-hand for the festival and those responders were able to immediately call for back-up. Thirty-six people, including the suspect, were hospitalized, with injuries ranging from broken bones to lacerations. Amazingly, no one suffered serious internal injuries or head trauma.
To read more about this incident visit the article by EMSResponder.com reporter Lisa Snowden, Car Plows into Busy Washington, D.C. Festival.
In another major rescue effort this week, Michigan fire and EMS workers responded to the crash site of a small plane on a lifesaving mission.
The Cessna Citation was carrying organs from Milwaukee for transplant to a patient in Michigan when it went down in Lake Michigan's 57-degree water shortly after the pilot signaled an emergency.
Those on board were two surgeons and two donor specialists from the University of Michigan Health System and two pilots who regularly fly their transplant missions.
To read the original article visit 6 Believed Dead in Lake Michigan Medical Plane Crash.
For a crash scene update visit Cause of Lake Michigan Medical Plane Crash Remains Unclear.
In another top article this week on EMSResponder.com, some controversy is about to brew again in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the city re-examines the structure of its firefighting and ambulance services.
Merger discussions in 2003 led to acrimony between unions and threats to privatize the paramedics. The Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics maintains its position that a fire-EMS merger would not be beneficial to the city.
The study of both bureaus is expected to continue for several months.
For details on this city's struggle with one of the most universal questions in public safety - whether or not to combine fire and EMS - visit Pittsburgh Eyes EMS, Fire Merger.
Reader Feedback Request
Thinking Outside the MCI Box
Has your agency made special plans or taken unique steps to prepare for major multicasualty events in your jurisdiction? If so, we invite you to tell us about it. EMS Magazine will profile the best examples of extraordinary planning/preparedness measures in a feature story appearing in our September issue. Help us share your hard-earned insights and outside-the-box approaches with others who may benefit from them. E-mail john.erich@cygnusb2b.com with thoughts, ideas, suggestions and examples, or call 800/547-7377, x. 1106. Your fellow responders - and the citizens they serve - will thank you.
Reminders:
June is Home Safety Month, sponsored by the Home Safety Council. This year's theme is "Hands on Home Safety," which asks the public to take some simple hands-on steps to create a safer home environment from hazards as falls, fires and burns, and poisonings. Read more on EMSResponder.com or visit the program website for materials.
June will also include the International Fire Fighter and EMS Safety Stand Down, sponsored by the IAFC and the IAFF. This year's event will be held June 17-23, and is designed to help rescuers focus on proper training, preparation and equipage before a call, and to promote the philosophy that all responders can return home safely, every time. Visit the program website for further information, and watch EMSResponder.com for an upcoming reference page for EMS safety articles to supplement your safety observance during this time.
Awards
Nominations are being accepted for EMS Magazine's 22nd Annual EMT/Paramedic of the Year Award, sponsored by Braun Industries and ZOLL Medical Corporation. Nominations must be received by July 2, 2007. For full contest rules and instructions please visit www.emsresponder.com/paramedic.
EMS Magazine is also accepting nominations for the 2007 EMS Magazine/National Association of EMTs Gold Service Award. For contest rules and to submit nominations, go to www.emsresponder.com/goldaward. Nominations must be received by August 1, 2007.
Other top headlines this week on EMSResponder.com:
