By EMS1 Staff
AURORA, Colo. — Public safety agencies in a Colorado city have changed their “scene safe” polices following the shooting of a man in the summer, it emerged this week.
Adam Fisher was left with serious injures after being shot three times in Aurora in June.
Following their SOPs at the time — and with the shooter still at large — firefighter-paramedics from Aurora Fire refused to go in.
Previous policies dictated that police must first secure the area and use the exact phrase, “scene safe,” before responders could enter the scene, according to 9News.com.
Aurora Police and Fire said the relevant SOPs have since changed, according to the report. Firefighters can now stand-by and wait for police to secure the scene or they can decide for themselves to enter the scene to rescue and treat the wounded.
During the incident in June, dispatchers reported that Fisher was “not doing well,” 9News.com said. Police officers used their flashlights to signal a fire captain over, but he refused, telling dispatchers, “We still don’t have a scene safe, “I’m not coming in until the scene is safe.”
Officers at the scene put Fisher into their cruiser, and drove him to an ambulance about a mile away where he was transported to the hospital for treatment.
With the new SOPs now in place, Deputy Fire Chief Dan Martinelli told 9News.com, “If another person’s in the same situation, we’ll be better prepared because of this event.”