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Friday, September 4, 2009 -
Our engine was the third piece in for an accident with reported entrapment and possible cardiac arrest. The first due engine and our utility were already on scene removing the victim. As our engine was approaching the left turn onto a 2 lane secondary road, stopped in the crossover of a 4 lane primary highway, where there is a curve and a hill. The heavy squad of the first due company went around on the officer's side at high speed without stopping to check for traffic. The driver of our engine had just stepped on the accelerator after he had stopped and started to proceed just as the squad came around him. He immediately stopped our engine because it was very clear the squad had no intentions of stopping. Had our driver continued one of them would have gone into the ditch or the opposite lanes of travel? Let alone possibly severely damaging our only engine that we have no replacement money for in the first place. By the way, the squad was running understaffed with only 2 people. There were 2 ALS ambulances already on scene as well as an understaffed engine and our utility and numerous other fire/ems personnel. There was no need whatsoever for this type of action since the victim had already been removed from the vehicle and CPR had been started.
Lessons Learned:
Risk vs. benefit: risking lives to do nothing is totally un-acceptable. Just as one apparatus driver used poor judgment in operating his vehicle, there was another driver who was only released to drive 2 months ago, used what he had been taught and made a very good decision.
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