By Paul Paterra
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Copyright 2007 Tribune Review Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
JEANNETTE, Pa. — Two Jeannette EMS crew members are being lauded for helping to save a woman’s life in Pittsburgh last week.
Jonathan Jobe and Greg Berardinelli had just taken a patient to UPMC Shadyside at about 8:30 p.m. Sept. 17 when they came upon a burning car on Fifth Avenue in the Shadyside section of the city.
“Traffic slowed down quickly and we saw a car on fire, so we figured we might as well stop to make sure everything was OK,” Jobe said. “It looked like she crossed the centerline and went into a tree.”
The pair initially focused on extinguishing the fire, but soon realized the driver was trapped, and her four-door Dodge Neon was becoming engulfed in flames. Two people were able to get the unresponsive woman out of the driver’s seat and were attempting to extricate her through the rear window.
Berardinelli and Jobe sprang into action with the help of bystanders, one of whom was an emergency medical technician from Eastern Area EMS, Wilkinsburg station.
“I hopped up on the back deck of the car and kicked in the rear window,” Jobe recalled. “We were able to get her out. ... She was unresponsive at that point. We got her safely to a point where we could assess her and treat her and not have to compromise our own safety.”
Berardinelli, a 17-year veteran of Jeannette EMS, said the woman was pulled from the car just in time.
“As soon as we got her out of the back window, the flames engulfed the rest of the vehicle,” he said.
Berardinelli said instincts take over in such a situation.
“We didn’t think about what we did that night,” Berardinelli said. “It’s what this job is all about, being able to help people.”
Jobe and Berardinelli treated the woman, who Berardinelli said was a schoolteacher from Pittsburgh. She had leg and abdominal injuries.
“It actually looked worse than it was,” Berardinelli said. “She finally came to when we got her laid down on the ground. She had no clue where she was.”
The Jeannette EMS pair then used their ambulance to take the woman to UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland. Traffic backups delayed the arrival of a Pittsburgh EMS crew.
A Pittsburgh crew member drove the Jeannette ambulance to the hospital, while Jobe and Berardinelli provided care for the woman.
Jobe, who’s been with Jeannette EMS for two years, said the woman spent about 24 hours in the hospital.
He would enjoy the chance to talk to her. “I would love to, just to find out how she’s doing.”
Mike Cafasso, operations manager for Jeannette EMS, says he’s proud of the crew members.
“That’s the way we’re trained,” Cafasso said. “Anybody who goes above and beyond just goes to show they’re well-trained and care about human life.”