By Dave Statter
STATter911.com
HYATTSVILLE, Md. — While everyone seemed to keep their cool, there was a great deal of frustration evident on the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department radio system Tuesday night. A fire engine crew was with an injured elderly woman at an apartment complex and couldn’t get an ambulance to come to the scene.
A PGFD spokesman and the chief of the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department (Station 807) confirm that despite efforts of the firefighters to guide the lost Riverdale crew, a second ambulance had to be sent, arriving 48 minutes after the initial dispatch. Ambulance 807 never got to the scene.
PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady tells STATter911.com, “The lack of a timely response and arrival is totally unacceptable.” Brady believes the delay had no adverse impact on the patient’s condition. The elderly woman was treated by the engine crew during the wait for an ambulance.
Riverdale VFD Chief Charles Ryan III wrote in an email to STATter911.com there were some mitigating circumstances, but that “ultimately, there is no acceptable excuse.” Chief Ryan says he has been “deeply involved in the investigation” and has counseled the individuals and clarified “what steps they need to take to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future.”
Those who monitored the conversations between Engine 855 and Ambulance 807 on PGFD’s Channel 4 heard the engine crew, on multiple occasions, calmly providing directions. Brady says the ambulance crew kept giving updated ETAs.
In trying to follow the directions provided by the firefighters on the scene, the crew from Ambulance 807 found itself at one point in DC along South Dakota Avenue after missing the turns provided by the engine crew.
Ambulance 807 was canceled and put back in service at 9:30 PM when Ambulance 801 arrived at the apartment building. Ambulance 801 was on another call when the Eastern Avenue emergency was dispatched. Ambulance 801 had returned to service from the previous call at 9:01 PM and was in quarters when it was dispatched to Eastern Avenue.
Riverdale’s Chief Ryan indicated that the GPS unit inside the ambulance provided the wrong location. STATter911.com found a similar problem using a GPS unit. It took us to Carson Circle off of Queens Chapel Road, about a half mile from 4915 Eastern Avenue.
Besides the GPS issue, Chief Ryan wrote that the map pages of this area Station 855 provides to neighboring companies are “unacceptable.” In his e-mail, Chief Ryan attached one page from Station 855’s map book. It gives a general overview of the area, has “4915" labeled above the words “Gallatin Street NE” and shows access from Eastern Avenue and Gallatin Street. It also points to a more detailed map on Page 8 of the book. It is unclear if the crew from Ambulance 807 had Page 8 in their book (that map was not provided by Chief Ryan). A look at a similar map book at Station 855 on Thursday showed Page 8 providing a much more detailed map of the complex.
Chief Ryan also said there were incorrect cross streets on the dispatch printout from the CAD.
Mark Brady says the entire incident, and not just the actions of the crew on Ambulance 807, is being reviewed by PGFD officials.
Like Brady, Chief Ryan pointed out “the delay did not have a negative impact on the patient’s outcome.”