SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that would add paramedics to the list of medical personnel who are authorized to do forensic blood draws on DUI suspects cleared its first legislative hurdle on Tuesday.

Sponsoring Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem, said a case of driving under the influence that was dismissed on a technicality led to the bill. "Orem City had a DUI case in court where the blood draw was done by a paramedic," said Peterson. "Because of that the case was thrown out."

Paramedics are trained to draw blood. But under state law, only doctors, nurses and certified phlebotomists can collect blood for a test of a person's alcohol or drug levels.

Encountering no public comment, HB85 was unanimously endorsed by the Health and Human Services Committee and placed on the House consent calendar for speedier passage.

Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune
All Rights Reserved

BELTSVILLE, Md. — Fire spokesperson Mark Brady says that a Prince George's County Firefighter is hospitalized in "good" condition after receiving an electrical shock at a Fire/EMS Station on Wednesday.

According to Brady, the firefighter was unplugging a shoreline, a heavy-duty electrical cord connected from an outlet to a fire engine, at the Beltsville Fire/EMS Station 831. The shoreline is used when a unit is off but needs a continuous electric charge to maintain the heavy-duty battery system and for electrical components on-board, explained Brady.

Brady said it appears the wires pulled away from the protective housing and the exposed wires came in contact with the firefighter's arm. That produced an electrical shock that threw him to the floor.

Advanced Life Support paramedics responded and they and Beltsville Fire/EMS Station #831 personnel transported the firefighter to the Burn Unit at Washington Hospital Center where he currently remains.

The firefighter was unable to move his right hand, and was disoriented. He remains hospitalized at least through Thursday night because he still has not regained feeling in his hand and arm, says Brady. His condition will be re-assessed Friday morning.

Republished with permission from WUSA9

FARMINGTON — Four middle and high school students were taken to the hospital with minor injuries after the bus they were on Tuesday afternoon collided with a tractor-trailer on a slick stretch of U.S. Route 2.

There were 14 students from Mt. Blue Regional School District 9 on the bus when it was hit around 2:50 p.m. at the intersection of High Street and Farmington Falls Road (U.S. Route 2), police Officer William Tanner said.

The four students taken by ambulance to Franklin Memorial Hospital had minor cuts and bruises. They ranged in age from 12 to 18 and were able to walk off the school bus to get into the ambulances after the crash, he said.

Tanner believes slick road conditions caused the crash. The school bus had its yellow caution lights on and was stopping to drop off a student when it was struck head-on by the tractor-trailer, which was loaded with logs and swerved to avoid hitting a pickup truck before the collision, Tanner said.

Emergency responders also assessed the 10 other students, found them unhurt and released them to parents who had rushed to the scene, Tanner said. Three of the students were taken home in another school bus.

Tanner spoke with every student on the bus immediately after the crash. He described them later as being shaken up, but in good spirits.

Just before the crash, the bus driver, Gerard Simard, 71, of Jay, had stopped at a stop sign on High Street and was turning right onto Farmington Falls Road to make a routine drop-off near the intersection, Tanner said.

An oncoming pickup truck, headed east on Farmington Falls Road, stopped for the bus's yellow caution lights and the tractor trailer behind the truck didn't stop in time, sliding on the icy road before veering across the center line and smashing into the bus, Tanner said.

The collision sent the bus skidding backwards nearly 30 feet, leaving the windshield cracked and most of the flat frontend heavily dented, Tanner said.

The tractor-trailer driver, Michael Matheny, 39, of Barberton, Ohio, told police he intentionally swerved across the center line to avoid hitting the truck and couldn't stop the rig before hitting the bus, Tanner said.

State police investigators estimated the tractor-trailer, which is owned by F.W. Madden Co., of Akron, Ohio, was traveling no faster than 30 mph before the crash, which occurred in a 45 mph zone, Tanner said.

Simard banged his leg in the crash and refused treatment at the scene, which is a short distance from downtown Farmington.

Matheny, who refused to comment at the scene, was unhurt, Tanner said.

Tanner does not expect to issue tickets related to the crash, saying Matheny was traveling too fast for the road conditions, but not fast enough to warrant a ticket. There were no issues with poor driving records, licenses or vehicle inspections for either driver, he said.

The school bus did not have its red stop sign and lights engaged at the time of the crash. If it had, other laws may have applied, Tanner said.

Superintendent Michael Cormier said the bus was carrying students from the district's middle school and high school, both in Farmington. Tanner and Cormier did not know details about the students' hometowns, saying all parents were notified Tuesday afternoon.

Cormier would not discuss safety features of the school bus involved in the crash. Tanner said the school bus has safety harnesses on a small number of seats for children who are younger than those riding during the crash.

School district officials plan to keep in contact with parents of students involved in the crash, Cormier said.

Two investigators from the Maine State Police division dedicated to commercial driving issues assisted at the scene. Fire and ambulance services from Farmington also responded to the crash, which closed the section of road for more than an hour.

CANTON — Two Cherokee County Firefighters are in jail after an investigation alleged they tampered with narcotics on a county ambulance.

Johnathan Wayne Thomas, 34, and Jarad Jones, 25, both of Canton, are being held in the Cherokee County Detention Center.

Thomas, who has worked with Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services for three years, is charged with the sale of hydrocodone, felony possession of marijuana, possession of a schedule II controlled substance, possession of a schedule III controlled substance and possession of a schedule IV controlled substance.

Jones, who has worked with CFES since 2005, is charged with felony theft by taking. Baker said he is accused of stealing fentanyl, a liquid pain killer, from a county ambulance last year. Jones stole the drug on more than one occasion and it was taken for his own personal use, Baker said.

Thomas has no bond and Jones' bond is set at $5,700.

Sheriff Roger Garrison and Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services Chief Tim Prather held a news conference Thursday and said during a routine inspection of ambulances Sunday, officials found vials missing from one of the ambulances.

As a result of the inspection, county fire officials reported the missing drugs to the Cherokee Sheriff's Office, which investigated the incident in conjunction with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Tim Cavender said.
C-MANS officials arrested Thomas on Wednesday afternoon at his home following a search warrant for the location. Both have been suspended without pay, Cherokee Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Jay Baker said.

At the time of the news conference, Jones had not yet turned himself in, but Garrison said there was another individual officials were "looking firmly at."

"It appears that there possibly will be one more charge of a firefighter here from Cherokee County as well as possibly other individuals who are not firefighters but were involved in the sale of illegal narcotics," he said.

Baker said Jones turned himself in at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center Thursday afternoon.

At the news conference, Garrison said he wanted to stress that "very small amounts" of drugs were stolen from the ambulance and that they were all pain-killers — primarily injectables — that were for "self-medication" and not sold to others. The hydrocodone Thomas is charged with selling was not a drug taken from the ambulance.

"It is through the further investigation (we found) that at least one of those individuals was involved in the sale of the hydrocodone, possibly the marijuana and some other narcotics," he said of Jones, who was not named at the time.
Garrison said though the incident is an "egregious" offense, he believes it to be an isolated event and that the care of any individuals was never jeopardized.

"We are all public servants," he said. "We are all saddened by this, but proud that Chief Prather acted quickly and aggressively."
Garrison credited restructuring within the fire department for bringing the incident to light, as additional personnel in the fire stations "put new eyes on some of these ambulances."

Prather, who took office in September after Raymond Gunnin retired, said he took the infraction personally. He added that the firefighter's actions were "disappointing" and that his office has a zero tolerance policy on drugs.

"This agency will not tolerate any type of illegal management or mishandling of our controlled substances, nor will we permit the possession and use of illegal drugs by our employees," Prather said. "Illegal drug use is a debilitating disease that can interfere and destroy a family, a person's health and career. I hope Mr. Thomas will take the necessary steps to overcome this issue and situation."

Garrison said Thomas' first court appearance is Friday. The investigation into the tampered vials is ongoing, Baker said.

Republished with permission of The Cherokee Tribune

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — A woman who called the wrong number when she suffered a stroke still found help a couple of time zones away.

Loretta Smith, of Cuyahoga Falls near Akron, felt her right side go numb and fell to the floor at her home last weekend.

The 70-year-old Smith said she was able to grab the phone with her left hand and thought she was calling her son. Instead, she was one digit off and reached a man in the Denver area who was originally from northeast Ohio and had kept the same number after he moved.

"It was a woman, and she said `I may be having a stroke,'" said Kenny Crater, 28, a sculpture major at Metropolitan State University in Denver.

Crater asked for her name and address and offered to get help. His 911 call was answered by Broomfield, Colo., police, who transferred his call to Cuyahoga Falls.

Smith was taken to Summa Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, where it was determined that she had suffered a mini-stroke, said Dr. Joseph Nienaltowski.

Smith said Crater saved her life. "I want this kid to be praised to high heaven," she said.

Crater said Smith had done her part, too. "I do not feel like I have done anything special," he said.

"I didn't save her," Crater said. "She found me."

SPOKANE, Wash. — Mike Shannon of the Spokane County 911 emergency system was working on a north Spokane street on Thursday, collecting geo-positioning data for the homes there.

His work is part of an ongoing upgrade of the 911 communications system.

A suspicious resident stepped out onto his front porch and jokingly asked, "Do I have to call 911""

"I am 911," Shannon replied and explained his work.

Dressed in a safety vest with a data collector in hand, Shannon admits he is a curiosity but not a threat. He's one of the good guys.

Another resident drove up a short time later and asked what was going on.

Shannon explained that the goal is to improve location information for 911 dispatchers handling emergency calls that arrive over landline telephones.

To do so, he is collecting the precise latitude, longitude and elevation for each residence.

That way, if someone is unable to talk, the dispatchers will know where to send crews.

The data is accurate to within about a yard.

The address verification will also eliminate confusion and misinformation in the existing system, part of which is based on phone company records, he said.

It will more closely identify apartments within buildings that have multiple units at the same street address. Elevation data will show the floor of the unit.

The new information will become part of an improved Next Generation 911, expected in about three years.

Officials want residents throughout Spokane County to know that if they see Shannon on their streets with his hand-held device, it's OK. He has his safety vest and drives a white Ford Escape with "911 Address Verification Vehicle" labeled on the doors.

Shannon's device uses global positioning (GPS) to establish coordinates that are then downloaded to a digital file and become part of the county's geographic information system.

Copyright 2012 Spokane Spokesman-Review

NEW YORK — Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma who isn't afraid of questioning federal spending for popular projects, is challenging $20 million a year in new funding for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City.

Mr. Coburn makes it clear that he's not taking issue with the museum itself, which he says will help those still in pain with their healing process and serve as a reminder to all Americans not to take their freedom for granted.

Instead, in tough budget times, Mr. Coburn questions the rationale behind a bill that would authorize $200 million over the next 10 years for the museum and memorial without finding a way to offset those costs. He also wonders why private contributions from thousands of individuals and numerous corporations, which have flowed to America's 9/11 Foundation Inc., during the past decade, aren't enough.

"The legislation creates a permanent duplicative federal funding stream for a privately operated facility," Mr. Coburn wrote in a Wednesday letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican. "The museum has received more than $75 million in federal assistance over the past two years and remains eligible to apply for additional funds from a variety of federal programs if necessary."

The bill would authorize the new $200 million federal funding stream even though the memorial and museum have already received more than $123 million in federal grants since 2009 and ended 2010 with more than $584 million in net assets.

Mr. Coburn said he came up with those figures by looking at the foundation's 2010 tax filing with the Internal Revenue Service, which showed $69.4 million in government grants, as well as an audit on the museum's website showing $53.5 million in grant funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2009.

"I would like to receive additional information as to why the multiple existing federal funding sources available are insufficient to support this effort," he wrote in his letter to Mr. McConnell. "I would also like to see a breakdown of the budget justifications from the foundation and the committee for the amounts authorized by this bill."

Debra Burlingame, who chairs the foundation's board, said the federal funds are needed to help secure the museum and memorial from potential terrorist attacks.

"These are very real security costs that shouldn't be borne by a private nonprofit. That is a responsibility not just of New York but of the entire country, she told the New York CBS affiliate. "Why would he want to stand in the way of contributing to the security of that site when the alternative is to put it in the hands of small donors, over 900,000 of them""

Groups representing the families of 9/11 victims are divided on the topic, with some who are directly involved in the museum and memorial supporting the additional federal funds and others, who say they have been left out of the memorial's planning, siding with Mr. Coburn.

"The proposed legislation would account for approximately one-third of the organization's operating budget, with our organization continuing to maintain responsibility for the remaining two-thirds of the funding, ensuring that our loved ones are remembered and honored for generations to come," Virginia Bauer, who serves on the foundation's board of directors, wrote along with several other family members of 9/11 victims to Sen. Mark Udall, Colorado Democrat, back in October.

But members of another group, Leaders of the 9/11 Parents and Families of Firefighters and World Trade Center Victims, oppose the additional federal funding and are calling on Congress to amend the bill to allow the National Park Service to help run and oversee the operation of the museum and memorial, as it does for the Pearl Harbor memorial in Hawaii and numerous other national memorials across the country.

"Taking ownership of the memorial and museum and annually funding a large portion of its operating costs, with no strings attached, will be a permanent albatross around the neck of the American taxpayer unless the highly respected and experienced stewardship of the National Parks Service is mandated," the group's leaders wrote Mr. Coburn on Thursday.

The 9/11 families also were outraged by recent reports that executives running the memorial and museum paid themselves a total of $6.5 million in salaries, including $300,000 in severance for Joan Gerner, the former vice president of design and construction. As the highest-paid executive, Ms. Gerner made $439,463 in 2010, including the severance.

Among those earning the highest salaries are President Joseph Daniels who makes $378,288; Executive Vice President of Development Cathy Blaney, who makes $332,149; and Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Communication Lynn Rasic, who makes $217,533.

In his letter to Mr. McConnell, Mr. Coburn also pointed out that the foundation spent $82,000 on a conference, conventions and meetings and $27,141 on lobbying efforts in 2010.

Copyright 2012 The Washington Times LLC
All Rights Reserved

EUREKA, Calif. — The Humboldt Bay Fire Department extricated a woman from her Ford pickup truck on Thursday afternoon after a traffic accident at Sixth and I streets left her trapped in the overturned vehicle.

A Eureka Police Department press release said witnesses reported that Tara Dewey of Eureka was traveling northbound on I Street at about 2:15 p.m. when a black Honda Civic driven by Daniel Wheeler of Weott ran a red light and broadsided her truck, causing it to spin and roll over. The truck slid into a parked van before coming to rest on its side.

"It looked really, really bad," said Courtney Taylor, who was traveling several cars behind the Honda on Sixth Street when she saw the accident.

Taylor said it appeared the Honda ran the red light, but she said she saw it slow down approaching the intersection before attempting to speed through. Both cars were traveling about 30 mph, according to the press release.

Humboldt Bay Fire personnel used the Jaws of Life to free the woman from the Ford pickup before loading her on a stretcher to be taken to a local hospital. She suffered moderate injuries, according to a fire department press release. The EPD release stated both drivers escaped serious injury because they were wearing safety belts.

Eureka Police Department personnel closed I Street from Seventh to Fifth streets, and Sixth Street from J to H streets, diverting traffic to alternate routes immediately after the collision. The Honda and the Ford had to be towed from the scene.

Copyright 2012 Times - Standard
All Rights Reserved

AUSTIN, Texas — Since the mid-90's, Austinites and residents of Travis County could always count on seeing two paramedics showing up on an ambulance during an emergency. That could soon be changing if Emergency Medical Services brass get their way when they pitch a proposal to the Austin City Council in mid-February.

Chief Ernesto Rodriguez, head of Austin Travis County EMS and Paul Hinchey, M.D. the medical director, are proposing to do away with one of the two paramedics currently on ambulances and adding a basic EMT.

"Paramedics are getting more and more difficult to find and one of the things that we wanted to do is instead of staffing with two paramedics, we want to staff with a paramedic and a basic life support provider," says Chief Rodriguez.

EMS leaders say the proposal if passed could save the agency money but all made it very clear that cost-cutting was not the main motivation.

"That is the motivation, to improve the quality of care that we provide," says Dr. Hinchey.

"We want to focus the paramedic's energy and their skills on the most critical patients and then we want to use basic providers to take care of the patients that don't need those critical skills and need basic life support so by dividing the two roles we think that we're going to actually provide better care for our patients," added Rodriguez.

A similar proposal was pitched by EMS leaders in December 2010, but that idea went over like a lead balloon when it was presented to both the Public Safety Commission and city council.

"If I were a paramedic and didn't have another paramedic backing me up I'd be very nervous and very scared," said Michael Levy, an Austin Public Safety Commission member.

Chief Rodriguez told KVUE that paramedics have 10-times the training than a basic EMT does.

Dr. Hinchey added that half of the nation’s 50-largest cities have already gone to the system that he and other local medical leaders are proposing.

"Most of our patients are not critical patients so by placing an EMT partner with that paramedic, the EMT can manage the basic patients and the critical patients can be managed by the paramedic," added Hinchey.

The proposal will be presented to the Public Safety Commission next week before it goes to the council for approval.

View the video from KVUE

While I don't know the exact statistic, it seems that many EMS providers have converted their "dual paramedic" ambulance configuration to a "1+1" staffing model. There have been several reasons given:

• It saves money. It is, on the surface, simply cheaper to staff each 1+1 unit compared to dual paramedic.
• In two-tier systems, it can increase the number of available ALS units.
• As this article points out, the experience level may increase for individual ALS providers.
• It standardizes the physical configuration of each unit, simplifying the restock, maintenance and replacement of each unit.

Yet, as an old-time medic, I do mourn the opportunity to work alongside another paramedic.

Make no mistake, a well trained and experienced EMT is a tremendous partner. But to bounce ideas and differential processes off a paramedic partner is different than that with an EMT.

It's a bit like being an airline pilot. The captain flies alongside another pilot, both who are trained to the same level. The junior pilot may have much less experience and may have fewer qualifications, but for at least that plane both individuals can fly it and make the decisions necessary to keep it from crashing.

EMS systems such as the one in Boston deploy such a system, where dual paramedic units support many more EMT-staffed units.

Because we operate in systems, I would love to see more research conducted that outlines the differences in outcomes and efficiency between differently staffed systems.

I recognize it would be tough to define all of the measurements. In addition, each system does have unique characteristics. Yet there must be a way to find the common parameters that can be used to find out what differences exist, if any.

The information would be very useful in EMS system development in the future.

POINT PLEASANT, N.J. — In its previous life, the Big Blue Rig was not actually blue but white with orange trim, a Creamsicle-colored box on wheels filled with IV bags, defibrillators, two stretchers and, if out on an emergency call, any number of volunteers of the Point Pleasant Boro First Aid Squad.

When its days of service to the borough were numbered and town leadership was readying to unload the 1996 Ford E-Series ambulance from the fleet in favor of a newer model, one of the volunteers who rode on many of those 911 calls, Dan Gaudette, elbowed in and said he was part of a group of potential buyers known as The Giants of Tailgating.

The group, a scattered sextet of die-hard Giants fans, and whose members, all season-ticket holders, had been looking for a replacement for the cramped GMC Yukon that served as their base of tailgating operations, pooled its financial resources and took ownership of the ambulance in October 2010.

Full story: Giants fans turn ambulance into 'fanbulance'

TORONTO — A Toronto man who fought for 35 minutes to save the life of a dying stranger said he never feared for his personal safety, even though an ambulance crew refused to attend the scene because of security concerns.

In a soft flat voice, Jesus Manuel Rodriguez told a coroner's inquest Tuesday into the death of James Hearst that he and two others made a futile attempt to revive Hearst as they waited for paramedics.

The inquest has heard that two paramedics quickly arrived near the Alexander St. apartment where Hearst, 59, laying dying of a heart attack on June 25, 2009, but refused to do anything for more than 20 minutes as they waited for police to escort them into the lobby.

The paramedics told their dispatcher they feared for their safety.

However, Rodriguez said he felt no security fears and that an apartment security guard was also in the lobby talking via radio to her dispatcher for more than half an hour as they took turns doing CPR.

"If there was something to be afraid (of) I wouldn't have been there," Rodriguez testified.

The initial 911 caller told an ambulance dispatcher that Hearst may have been drinking, but Rodriguez said he didn't believe this was true.

He described a hellish situation, where several passersby - including one who identified herself as a paramedic - refused to help as they waited for emergency responders.

"She said, 'I'm a paramedic,' " Rodriguez recalled.

He said he replied: "Can you help us" This guy is getting worse.'

"She said, 'Oh no. Sorry.' And she left."

The woman did not identify herself and the inquest did not hear if she was wearing a uniform.

Rodriguez said Hearst was initially conscious and squeezed his hand as they attempted to save his life.

He said he told the dying man: "You are not alone. We'll try to do the best for you."

Rodriguez testified Hearst's "face was turning into a different colour at that time."

Rodriguez said he was holding Hearst's hand, pleading with him to stay alive, when he felt the life go out of the stranger.

"It's like . . . a balloon losing its air. I knew that it was his last minutes. . . . His eyes opened and I guess he died at that point."

Rodriguez said he kept talking, saying, "Hopefully, I will see you again smiling. But if not, there's nothing I can do."

"And I closed his eyes," Rodriguez said.

Hearst's partner, Alejandro Martinez, said he was grateful to Rodriguez and others who tried to help.

"Thanks to them, and only to them, my partner wasn't alone in his last minutes," Martinez said.

Hearst died during a strike by unionized Toronto workers, including dispatchers and paramedics, and the inquest has heard there was a 75 per cent staffing level throughout the labour disruption.

Dispatcher Susan Prevost was asked if her union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, gave her any directions about how to do her job during the strike.

"Not that I recall," she replied.

Senior ambulance dispatcher Gregory Lees testified staffing was down that night due to the strike. A senior duty dispatcher was learning to drive an emergency bus, while two senior dispatchers were covering duties normally handled by three workers.

Making things worse, the call for Hearst came at 11:07 pm, during a meal break when staff was reduced to one senior dispatcher.

Copyright 2012 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. — San Bernardino County Sheriff's are investigating a collision between a medic ambulance and another vehicle Monday in Hesperia.

Medic Ambulance 305 was traveling north on Hwy 395 at 2:17 p.m. near Main Street to a medical call when they were struck on the driver's side by another vehicle, according to a sheriff's news release.

Both firefighters suffered minor injuries and were taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton for treatment. The occupants of the second vehicle suffered moderate injuries and were taken to Desert Medical Center in Victoville for treatment.

Copyright 2012 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The National EMS Memorial Service today released the names of the 20 individuals from 13 states to be honored at the 2012 National EMS Memorial Service to be held Saturday, June 23 in Colorado Springs.

The National EMS Memorial Service has, since 1992, been honoring America's EMS providers who have given their lives in the line of duty.
The 20 individuals being honored this year join 581 others previously honored by the National EMS Memorial Service.

Each year, at a service held in Colorado Springs, members of the honoree's families are presented with a medallion, symbolizing eternal memory; a U.S. Flag which has flown over the Nation's Capital, symbolizing service to the country; and a white rose, symbolizing their undying love.

The 2012 National EMS Memorial Service will be conducted at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs.

In addition to the presentations made during the Service, each honoree's name is engraved on a bronze oak leaf which is added to the "Tree of Life," the National EMS Memorial.

National EMS Memorial Service 2012 Honorees

Charolette "Charlie" Adair, of Richfield Township Fire Department, Berkey, OH, who died in the line of duty on October 28, 2011 of injuries sustained after being struck at the scene of a call.

Randall Joe "Randy" Bever, of LifeNet-St. Joseph, St. Joseph, MO, who died in the line of duty on August 26, 2011 of injuries sustained in a medical aviation accident.

Scherese M Bishop, of Northeast Ambulance & Fire Protection District, Beverly Hills, MO, who died in the line of duty on March 11, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Charles Black, of Superior Air-Ground Ambulance, Highland, IN, who died in the line of duty on August 10, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Carmen I Burnette, of Putnam County EMS, Cookeville, TN, who died in the line of duty on February 25, 2011 of complications from surgery for a line of duty injury.

Mark W Camara, of Poultney Rescue Squad, Poultney, VT, who died in the line of duty on October 7, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Daniel C Dare, of Avon First Responders, Avon, IL, who died in the line of duty on February 1, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

William G "Bill" Didier, of Trans North Aviation, Eagle River, WI, who died in the line of duty on November 28, 2011 of injuries sustained in a medical aviation accident.

Chris Frakes, of LifeNet-St. Joseph, St. Joseph, MO, who died in the line of duty on August 26, 2011 of injuries sustained in a medical aviation accident.

James R Freudenburg, of LifeNet-St. Joseph, St. Joseph, MO, who died in the line of duty on August 26, 2011 of injuries sustained in a medical aviation accident.

Richard "Dick" Hanlon, of Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Madison, NJ, who died in the line of duty on February 15, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Russell C Hogue, of Spencerport Volunteer Ambulance Service, Spencerport, NY, who died in the line of duty on March 11, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Michael S Kenwood, of Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, Princeton, NJ, who died in the line of duty on August 28, 2011 of drowning during swift water rescue.

Jeffery Landgraf, of Kearny County EMS, Lakin, KS, who died in the line of duty on April 18, 2011 of injuries sustained in an on-duty motor vehicle collision.

Gary Liszewski, of Broward County EMS, Fort Lauderdale, FL, who died in the line of duty on January 22, 1987 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Bruce Mandell, of Maplewood Volunteer First Aid Squad, Maplewood, NJ, who died in the line of duty on October 3, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Matthew Pellettere, of River Edge Volunteer Ambulance Service, River Edge, NJ, who died in the line of duty on January 16, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Merlin Sayan, of Kalkaska EMS, Kalkaska, MI, who died in the line of duty on February 13, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Alan L Unger, of Inwood Township EMS, Cooks, MI, who died in the line of duty on March 6, 2011 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Robert Wood, of Montrose Minute Men, Montrose, PA, who died in the line of duty on February 24, 1985 of an on-duty cardiac event.

Additional information on the National EMS Memorial Service is available from its web site at http://nemsms.org

FAYETTE COUNTY, Pa. — A Fayette County man was arraigned today on charges of aggravated assault after police said he swung a shovel at a medic answering a call at a neighboring apartment late Sunday.

Robert Shaner, 58, of Connellsville, is also charged with terroristic threats, reckless endangerment, resisting law enforcement, harassment and public drunkenness.

In a news release, state police said a medic arrived at an apartment complex in the 2700 block of Memorial Boulevard in Bullskin to respond to a call at around 10:20 Sunday night. While attempting to contact the patient inside, Mr. Shaner, who was in the adjacent unit, came out and started "cursing and swing a shovel" at the medic and threatened to shoot him.

Full story: Fayette County man accused of attacking medic with shovel

DANBURY, England — A critically ill patient had to be cut from an ambulance after it careered into a ditch while on an emergency call.

Peter Langley, 74, from Great Totham, had been picked up from his home and was being driven to Broomfield Hospital when the ambulance transporting him collided with a van on Main Road, Danbury.

Three paramedics had been escorting him and managed to free themselves but two fire crews were dispatched to release the patient on Friday. The patient is in a stable condition.

Quickly Chelmsford fire officer Martin Hills told the Chronicle: "We arrived very quickly after the accident happened at just after 10.30am. When we got there the paramedics were already out of the ambulance which was down a ditch by the side of the road.

"We proceeded to lift the patient out of the back of the ambulance and he was quickly taken away by a replacement ambulance that had arrived."

The road between Hulls Lane and Riffhams Lane was closed for two hours. The paramedics were also taken to Broomfield Hospital with minor injuries.

"The van and female driver were at the side of the road. She was uninjured," said Mr Hills.

East of England Ambulance Service spokesman Gary Sanderson said: "An investigation has been launched to find out the cause of the collision and we are working closely with Essex Police."

Copyright 2012 Essex Chronicle
All Rights Reserved

NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia — A preliminary report has been released into the death of an elite paramedic in the New South Wales' Southern Highlands on Christmas Eve.

Mick Wilson, 41, was being winched to an injured canyoner at Carrington Falls on December 24 when the cable was cut and the paramedic fell to his death.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says it has completed examinations into the helicopter and winch and found that neither could have contributed to the accident.

It has also completed interviews with the crew and witnesses and recovered data from the helicopter's voice recorders.

It says the investigation is continuing and will now look at ropes and other equipment used during the attempted rescue.

The entire winching operation, along with the experience and qualifications of those involved, will also be investigated.

The final report is not expected to be released until January 2013.

Copyright 2012 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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OXNARD, Calif. — A man was injured Wednesday in Oxnard after his car crashed into a power pole and was energized, authorities said. The incident was reported about 11:15 a.m. in a rural area near Teal Club Road and South Victoria Avenue.

The man was driving east on Teal Club and became distracted, then his vehicle veered off the road and hit a power pole, said Battalion Chief Darwin Base, of the Oxnard Fire Department.

Three transformers from the pole fell and energized the vehicle, and emergency personnel couldn't continue the rescue until after electricity was turned off, Base said.

After about 20 minutes, Southern California Edison crews turned off the power, and firefighters extricated the victim, whose name was not released.

The driver, in his 60s, complained of back and neck pain and was taken to Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura for minor injuries, Base said.

The vehicle's air bags were deployed, and the man was wearing a seat belt, Base said.

The extrication effort was minor, but the man was in too much pain to let himself out of the vehicle, officials said.

No one else was injured, Base said.

One transformer leaked fluid onto the road, and a hazardous-materials team responded to make sure it was not toxic and didn't spread, Base said.

Teal Club was closed between Victoria Avenue and Patterson Road while the road was cleared, authorities said.

Copyright 2012 Ventura County Star
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CAIRO, Egypt — At least 74 people were killed and hundreds injured after soccer fans rushed the field in the seaside city of Port Said Wednesday following an upset victory by the home team over Egypt's top club, setting off clashes and a stampede as riot police largely failed to intervene.

It was a bloody reminder of the deteriorating security in the Arab world's most populous country as instability continues nearly a year after former President Hosni Mubarak was swept out of power in a popular uprising.

The melee _ which followed an Egyptian league match between Al-Masry, the home team in the Mediterranean city, and Al-Ahly, based in Cairo and one of Egypt's most popular teams _ was the worst case of soccer violence in Egypt and the deadliest worldwide since 1996. One player said it was "like a war."

In Cairo, fans angered that another match between Al-Ismaili and Zamalek was halted because of the Port Said violence set fire to the bleachers at the main stadium in the Egyptian capital, authorities said. No injuries were reported, and employees said firefighters extinguished the blaze before it caused much damage.

The clashes and ensuing stampede did not appear to be directly linked to the political turmoil in Egypt, but the violence raised fresh concerns about the ability of the state police to manage crowds. Most of the hundreds of black-uniformed police with helmets and shields stood in lines and did nothing as soccer fans chased either, some wielding sharp objects and others hurling sticks and rocks.

Security officials said the ministry has issued directives for its personnel not to "engage" with civilians after recent clashes between police and protesters in November left more than 40 people dead.

The violence also underscored the role of soccer fans in Egypt's recent protest movement. Organized fans, in groups known as ultras, have played an important role in the revolution and rallies against military rule. Their anti-police songs, peppered with curses, have quickly become viral and an expression of the hatred many Egyptians feel toward security forces that were accused of much of the abuse that was widespread under Mubarak's regime.

Egypt is not immune to soccer violence. In April, the ineffectiveness of the police force also was on display when thousands of fans ran onto the field before the end of an African Champions League game between local club Zamalek and Tunisia's Club Africain. The hundreds of police on duty at Cairo International Stadium could not stop the violence then, either.

Activists scheduled rallies Thursday outside the headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Cairo to protest the inability of the police to stop the bloodshed.

Many gathered outside Al-Ahly club in Cairo, chanting slogans against military rule, and hundreds filed into Cairo's main train station to receive the injured arriving from Port Said. "We die like them, or we ensure their rights," the crowd chanted, along with slogans denouncing the military rulers.

In Port Said, residents marched early Thursday, denouncing the violence and saying it was a conspiracy by the military and police to cause chaos.

Army tanks and armored vehicles joined police patrolling near hospitals and morgues. Police were not to be seen in the streets after the violence and were unavailable to break up fights that followed.

The tension also spread to the nearby Suez province. About 500 protesters, including soccer fans and activists, gathered outside the main police headquarters to protest what they called police negligence.

A security official said the police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to reporters.

The scuffles broke out after fans of Al-Masry stormed the field following a rare 3-1 win against Al-Ahly. Al-Masry supporters hurled sticks and stones as they chased players and fans from the rival team, who ran toward the exits to escape, according to witnesses. One man told state TV he heard gunshots in the stadium, while a lawmaker from Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood said the police didn't prevent fans carrying knives from entering the stadium.

TV footage showed Al-Ahly players rushing for their locker room as fistfights broke out among the hundreds of fans swarming on to the field. Some men had to rescue a manager from the losing team as he was being beaten. Black-clothed police officers stood by, appearing overwhelmed.

The Interior Ministry said 74 people died, including one police officer, and 248 were injured, 14 of them police. A local health official initially said 1,000 people were injured and it was not clear how severely. Security forces arrested 47 people for involvement in the violence, the statement said.

State TV appealed to Egyptians to donate blood for the injured in Port Said, and the military sent two aircraft to evacuate serious cases to the capital, Cairo.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the military leadership that assumed power after Mubarak's ouster, welcomed Al-Ahly team players who were flown back to Cairo from Port Said on a military aircraft.

"This will not bring Egypt down," he told reporters at a military air base east of Cairo. "These incidents happen anywhere in the world. We will not let those behind it go ...This will not affect Egypt and its security."

Tantawi said Egyptians should not be silent in the face of such acts of violence. "We don't want people to sit idle after acts like these...Why are the people silent," Tantawi said. Such statements have been followed by clashes in the past.

The military declared three days of mourning starting Thursday.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim told state TV that 13,000 Al-Masry fans stormed the field, jumping a low fence and attacking about 1,200 Al-Ahly fans. He said the security tried to stop them, and blamed the stampede for many of the deaths.

Al-Ahly goalkeeper Sharif Ikrami, who was injured in the melee, told the private station ONTV that dead and wounded were being carried into the locker room.

"There were people dying in front of us," he said. "It's over. We've all made a decision that we won't play soccer any more. How will we play soccer after 70 people died" We can't think about it."

Hesham Sheiha, a health ministry official, said most of the deaths were caused by concussions, deep head wounds and suffocation from the stampede. He said 40 people were in serious conditions and undergoing surgery.

In an interview with the team's station, Mohammed Abu Trika, a player with Al-Ahly, criticized police for standing by and not intervening in the violence.

"People here are dying and no one is doing a thing. It's like a war," he told the team TV station. "Is life this cheap""

Egypt's state prosecutor ordered an immediate investigation into the violence, and the Egypt Football Association ordered an indefinite suspension of the league games. The parliament said it would convene an emergency session.

The two sides also traded conspiracy theories, with each side blaming the other for trying to destabilize the country.

Essam el-Erian, a Brotherhood lawmaker, said the military and police were complicit in the violence, accusing them of trying to stop critics demanding an end to state of emergency that give security forces wide-ranging powers.

"This tragedy is a result of intentional reluctance by the military and the police," he said.

The manager of the Al-Masry, Kamal Abu Ali, announced he also was resigning in protest.

"This is not about soccer. This is bigger than that. This is a plot to topple the state," he told the same station, using an often-cited allegation by the military against protesters.

Bob Bradley, the former U.S. national team coach who was hired in September as coach of Egypt's national team, was not at the stadium, U.S. Soccer Federation spokesman Michael Kammarman said.

It was the deadliest incident of soccer violence since Oct. 16, 1996, when at least 78 people died and 180 others were injured in a stampede at a stadium in Guatemala City before a World Cup qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica.

The Port Said game was a face-off between two teams with a long history of fierce competition, Al-Masry, the home team, and Al-Ahly, a record 36-time winner of the Egyptian league and a six-time winner of the African Champions League.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was "shocked and saddened" by the deaths.

"This is a black day for football. Such a catastrophic situation is unimaginable and should not happen," he said in a statement.

The Confederation of African Football, which organizes the African Cup, said a minute's silence would be held before all quarterfinals this weekend as a mark of respect for the dead.

CAF President Issa Hayatou said, "African football is in a state of mourning."

MONTEREY, Calif. — Two soldiers and a civilian paramedic were honored Tuesday at the Naval Postgraduate School for assisting a Monterey man who was attacked by a shark off Marina State Beach on Oct. 29.

Eric Tarantino, 27, was bitten along the right side of his body by a shark that took a 19-inch chunk from his red surfboard. He had wounds on his neck, shoulder, wrist and forearm by the time the two soldiers, Army Maj. Jonathan G. Bleakley and Master Sgt. Garric M. Banfield, brought him to shore.

There, paramedic Lorenzo Navarro of American Medical Response rendered first aid. Tarantino was flown to Regional Medical Center of San Jose, treated for his injuries and released two days later.

Bleakley, 36, and Banfield, 38, are surfing buddies and classmates at the Navy school, where they are taking a course in defense analysis. Both are veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, where they served with civil affairs units.

They were decorated with the Army Commendation Medal.

Navarro, 35, has been a paramedic with AMR ambulance service since 2001. NPS awarded him a certificate of commendation.

All three awards were presented by Army Col. Greg Wilson, ranking officer at the school's Army Student Detachment and a member of the faculty.

"These guys were ready when the call came," he said. "We train them to go into harm's way, and the skills they learn let them give back to the nation and community. These guys became the dream team."

Copyright 2012 The Monterey County Herald
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