FDNY: Ambulances were delayed to fire that killed 2 kids

[x635 4,066]

The FDNY admitted Monday that ambulances were delayed in responding to the Easter morning house fire that killed two 4-year-old kids. “We are looking at the timeline and why it happened,” Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/04/22/officials-investigating-ems-response-time-in-deadly-far-rockaway-fire/

[Jybehofd 85]

yeah but if you look outside nyc thats a good response time... i hate to sound cold

[Mac8146 61]

Really sad about the kids,however since the word lawsuit has now been mentioned due to response delays maybe its time for the responsible parties to be charged for not having working smoke detectors. Easy to sue the city and blame EMS for there issues but what about those that dont follow law in regards to smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. City will hand out money to settle this and those kids will never be back, a shame that the parents will "profit" from this loss.

[PEMO3 523]

Mac8146 you are on the money. We are quick to throw the first responders under the bus but not hold the rest accountable for their own level of responsibility in these tragedies. Who allowed the lighter/matches to be readily available to small children/where were the smoke detectors/who was watching the kids. I realize lives were lost and hearts are aching but to relieve their pain but placing it on those who were there to help is cruel. Why should a firefighter/EMT/Medic/PO/dispatcher go through life carrying the burden of the question of "if I was only a few minutes faster" for the sake of someone else lessening their pain.

[Bnechis 3,961]

Why should a firefighter/EMT/Medic/PO/dispatcher go through life carrying the burden of the question of "if I was only a few minutes faster" for the sake of someone else lessening their pain.

Because our culture demands that it must be someone else's fault. Nobody takes responsibility for anything and we should not expect the parents or guardians to take responsibility for the fire or the lack of warning. It must be someone else's fault.

[nycemt728 49]

From todays Daily News. Anyone have any comments on this? It seems odd.

The 411 on 911

Iselin, N.J.: Before anyone blames EMS for taking too long to respond to the tragic fire in the Rockaways, they should understand that firefighters are dispatched 10 minutes before EMS. That is to enable the firefighters to arrive and a) determine if it’s a fire and determine if there is a need for additional resources. Screaming, “Where’s EMS!” will not get EMS there in an instant. All it does is bring negative attention and danger to the EMS crew responding to the scene. And if the firefighters were that concerned, why didn’t they bring the children to the ambulance at their staging area? Marcella Rivera, FDNY EMT

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/april-25-horses-pineda-chelsea-clinton-article-1.1768173#ixzz2zw6FRzDJ

[M' Ave 1,466]

From todays Daily News. Anyone have any comments on this? It seems odd.

The 411 on 911

Iselin, N.J.: Before anyone blames EMS for taking too long to respond to the tragic fire in the Rockaways, they should understand that firefighters are dispatched 10 minutes before EMS. That is to enable the firefighters to arrive and a) determine if it’s a fire and determine if there is a need for additional resources. Screaming, “Where’s EMS!” will not get EMS there in an instant. All it does is bring negative attention and danger to the EMS crew responding to the scene. And if the firefighters were that concerned, why didn’t they bring the children to the ambulance at their staging area? Marcella Rivera, FDNY EMT

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/april-25-horses-pineda-chelsea-clinton-article-1.1768173#ixzz2zw6FRzDJ

Some rank and file EMT who has no idea what they're talking about.

The issue is not, "what took them so long to get there". The issue is, why was there a delay in dispatching them. There was too much time between the transmission of the 10-75 (which should initiate an EMS response) and the actual dispatching of ALS and BLS units.

This individual, Marcella, is clearly taking the press coverage personally. When in reality, the EMTs and Medics on the street are not being questioned about the adequacy of their response. EMS members should really be asking the same questions. "Why did it take so long for us to be sent?". I'm sure they are asking themselves that.

[nycmedic 65]

She should be taking personally when your brothers are screaming at the emts for taking to long when it was the FIRE dispatchers who dropped the ball. Second a six minute ems response to a call in the city is the avg response time. The emts made it there in 6 minutes after putting on their ppe gear. Keep on trying to blame ems for the FIRE DISPATCHERS mistake

[M' Ave 1,466]

She should be taking personally when your brothers are screaming at the emts for taking to long when it was the FIRE dispatchers who dropped the ball. Second a six minute ems response to a call in the city is the avg response time. The emts made it there in 6 minutes after putting on their ppe gear. Keep on trying to blame ems for the FIRE DISPATCHERS mistake

Did ya read what I wrote.......

Who's screaming at EMT's? I've worked almost everyday since that fire and no one is making any negative commentary about the EMT's, certainly not around the kitchen table. Was there screaming the night of the fire? I wasn't there, but I'm sure there was. It was a tragic and chaotic scene and tensions run high. If you take those moments personally, you need a thicker skin on the streets.

With regard to who made the mistake and when the mistake was made, those people have only begun feeling the pain of their error...we know some of who is responsible and at this point no one is under the impression that anyone manning a bus is to blame.