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NYC Council intern faints; ambulance takes 30 minutes

The incident comes amid harsh criticism of the city’s beleaguered emergency response system

NBC New York

NEW YORK — After 911 was called to help an intern who fainted at a sweltering mayoral campaign event in Brooklyn Tuesday, more than 30 minutes passed before an ambulance arrived.

The FDNY initially blamed the delay on a 20 percent spike in emergency calls related to the heat wave, which is in its third day and is expected to last through Saturday. In another statement later, the department said the call was “appropriately tagged as not being a high-priority, life-threatening call.”

The 18-year-old intern, who had just started working for Councilwoman Diana Reyna this summer, passed out and fell to the ground Tuesday morning during a mayoral campaign event for Christine Quinn in Greenpoint that was held to discuss the city’s trash management plan.

Full story: 30 Minutes Pass Before Ambulance Arrives to Help Passed-Out Intern at Mayoral Campaign Event

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