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This Week in EMS: A Recap for Feb. 24 - March 2, 2007
Rescuers across the Midwest and Southeast were kept busy as tornadoes killed 20 and injured dozens throughout the day Thursday and overnight.
Among the fatalities were eight students from Enterprise High School in Alabama, which suffered a direct hit. Walls were blown out and part of the roof collapsed, trapping students under the debris for hours, according to media reports.
Another apparent tornado later struck near Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, Georgia, killing at least two people and injuring numerous others. Additional fatalities included six people in the town of Newton, Georgia, and a 7-year-old girl in Missouri.
Details continue to develop on the rescue efforts and fatality reports from this violent storm system, which included thunderstorms and snowstorms from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast. Follow the story on EMSResponder.com: 20 Dead as Tornadoes Hit Ga., Ala., Mo.
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Another major incident unfolded Friday morning as a bus carrying a college baseball team plunged off a highway ramp onto Interstate 75 in Atlanta, Georgia. Six of the 35 people aboard were reported dead and 12 to 15 were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. The team was from Bluffton University, located south of Toledo, Ohio.
The bus landed on its side, blocking all four southbound lanes and scattering sports equipment across the highway, according to media reports. Rescuers pulled the victims out through the roof. For more on this incident visit: Ohio College Team Bus Wrecks in Atlanta, Killing 6.
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This week also saw the loss of a member of the EMS community in Ontario, Canada. Paramedic Paul W. Patterson, of Sun Parlour EMS, was killed Feb. 25 while responding to a motor vehicle accident.
Paul, age 30, was involved in a single-vehicle rollover crash that severely damaged the driver's side of the SUV and left him with fatal injuries. Slippery road conditions may have been a factor in the accident. The memorial service was scheduled for this Friday, March 2.
For more about Paul, visit the article and related links on EMSResponder.com: Ontario Paramedics Lose One of Their Own.
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New on EMSResponder.com:
Please take a moment to answer a quick poll on EMS cell phone use. The results will be included in an upcoming article in EMS Magazine. Click here to answer the poll: EMS Magazine Poll: Cell Phones.
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Reminders:
Nominations are being accepted for EMS Magazine's 22nd Annual EMT/Paramedic of the Year Award, sponsored by Braun Industries and ZOLL Medical Corporation. For full contest rules and instructions please visit https://www.emsresponder.com/paramedic.
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EMS Magazine wants your input for this year's annual website review. Please submit your favorite online resources to website editor Heather Caspi at Heather.Caspi@cygnusb2b.com.
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Other top headlines on EMSResponder.com this week:
