By Dave Statter
STATter911
HUNTERDON COUNTY, N.J. — An incident on September 13 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey has received much attention in fire and EMS circles. That was the case where Quakertown Fire Company’s Rescue 91 passed an ambulance from Quakertown Volunteer EMS as both units were heading to an accident scene.
While police filed no charges, their report indicates the driver of Rescue 91 was forced to suddenly come back into the ambulance’s lane to avoid hitting a vehicle coming toward them. That vehicle turned out to be one of Quakertown Fire Company’s own members responding to the firehouse. This move forced the ambulance off the road into a ditch. The ambulance made it to the scene and the crew sought treatment after taking the accident victim to the hospital.
The two organizations have been involved in an ongoing dispute over providing EMS for the community.
Until now, other than a statement acknowledging the incident, Quakertown Fire Company has not given its version of what happened. The original stories were based on information from Quakertown Volunteer EMS. Now, the fire company has posted a more detailed statement on its website. Here it is:
On Sunday, September 13th, the Quakertown Fire Company (“QFC”) was involved in an unusual incident while responding to a serious motor vehicle accident in Franklin Twp. The Quakertown Fire Company has cooperated fully with local authorities.
The QFC would like to provide critical facts associated with the incident and accident that have thus far been absent in the media’s published accounts:
Franklin Twp Police requested all units to “expedite” one minute after dispatch, not as the rescue truck was “passing the ambulance” as has previously, and erroneously, been reported. The word “expedite” is not a word used daily and is never a command utilized in a light manner in the field of public safety; in all cases it is used to intensify the response of inbound units. To be sure, it implies that a very serious situation is occurring and all efforts are to be made to heighten an already significant response by police, fire, and emergency units.
The QFC vehicle involved in the incident was a specialized Rescue Truck equipped with life-saving hydraulic rescue tools and stabilization equipment which were used immediately upon the truck’s arrival at the accident scene; this unit is not a standard fire engine. Quakertown Volunteer EMS has none of the certifications, training, supplies or life saving equipment to perform critical rescue operations and patient care in a motor vehicle accident.
QFC is the Township government-authorized lead agency in Franklin Township for fire and rescue incidents. The Quick Response Unit (“QRU”) has nothing to do with this motor vehicle accident.
There was no “race” to the scene between the two agencies as the QFC Chief and Deputy Chief, both NJ certified emergency medical technicians, were on-scene performing patient care and incident management prior to the incident between the Rescue Truck and the Ambulance.
The rescue truck was following the ambulance for almost a mile before attempting to pass the ambulance after the ambulance failed to yield. Prior to passing, the rescue operator, and front-seat officer, repeatedly attempted to signal the ambulance to pull over with air horn and siren blasts. Significantly, the officer of the Rescue Truck on the evening of the incident referenced, attempted to reach the ambulance on the radio, to confirm the ambulance driver knew where he was going and to make a request to pass. The ambulance did not answer direct radio call from the Rescue Truck.
The rescue truck crew reported that the ambulance was traveling well below the posted speed limit and appeared to be lost. Investigation indicates this may be accurate as the crew chose to take a route that was 5.5 miles long via Quakertown Rd to Cherryville Rd to the accident scene. There was shorter, more efficient route to the critical accident scene that was 2.6 miles shorter, almost half the distance from their building that the ambulance did not utilize.
The driver of the Rescue Truck, Quakertown Fire Co. Past Chief and current Captain, John Schutts, has been a firefighter for 20 years and was an EMT for 14 years. He has operated emergency vehicles without incident for 17 years. He has zero points on his license. He has been in emergency services for 22 years. He has not had an accident in 22 years.
Over the past two months since the Quakertown Volunteer EMS (“QVEMS”) hired more than six paid personnel, crews have had considerable difficulty in finding emergency scenes throughout Franklin Township while working on the QVEMS ambulance. In a little more than three weeks time, QVEMS crews have had three documented incidents of getting lost while responding to residents’ calls for help.
The Quakertown Fire Company is located in Franklin Twp, Hunterdon County and covers all of Franklin Twp, and portions of Union and Alexandria Twps. The 55-member volunteer non-profit provides fire suppression, fire prevention, specialized rescue and emergency medical services to the community.