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Two Virginia volunteer firefighters were suspended for transporting an 18-month-old girl to the hospital in a fire engine last Saturday, ultimately saving her life.
Captain James Kelley and Sgt. Virgil Bloom of the Falmouth Volunteer Fire Department in Fredericksburg were the first to respond to a call of a child having a seizure at an undisclosed location near a McDonald’s and took her to a nearby hospital, according to Fox 5 DC.
Kelley explained to Fox 5 DC Saturday he told the driver to turn the fire engine on because the child was in desperate need of medical care and the nearest ambulance was about 10 to 15 minutes away. He said when he asked where the nearest medic was, he received vague responses.
The fire engine picked up the child and transported her to Mary Washington Hospital. A separate ambulance requested to meet with the firefighters at the Falmouth Station, but Kelley denied the request because of the proximity to the hospital.
The girl was put on oxygen in the fire engine and was in the trauma room within 13 minutes of the time the call came in, Fox 5 DC reported.
Brian Nunamaker, the girl’s father, told the Fox affiliate the incident occurred as he and his daughter were coming back from running errands. He said he pulled over by the McDonald’s and was assisted by a passerby as well.
“As a parent, you feel extremely helpless to be unable to assist the most important person in the world during such a time of emergency,” Nunamaker said in a statement. “Worst case scenarios run through your head while you are hoping for the best. The eternity of waiting for help to arrive was surprisingly non-existent in this situation. I was surprised at how quickly help had arrived in the form of a fire truck."
When the firefighters arrived on the scene, Nunamaker’s daughter was limp but she was still breathing and had a pulse. His daughter arrived at the hospital and started to have another seizure, but it stopped momentarily. Nunamaker said his daughter was later transferred to VCU and was later discharged.
Unsubstantiated comment says both firefighters were re-instated.
I can understand am immediate suspension following a break in procedure such as cops on leave after being involved in a shooting. Gives everyone a chance to get the fact straight and follow the best course of action.
If they truly saved the child's life they should be getting a commendation instead of a suspension. Of course if things had gone badly they and the fire company could have faced big law suits..
If they truly saved the child's life they should be getting a commendation instead of a suspension. Of course if things had gone badly they and the fire company could have faced big law suits..
Agree i think the suspension fits the situation and this gives the department time to investigate.
There's normally a reason for the procedures, if she had been more critical things could have been very bad. It says it took them 13 minutes to get to the hospital which is quite a long time. If the girl had died on the way or had any permanent problems, their opening the city up to massive litigation.
The volunteer fire department in my current town once responded to a fire outside the assigned fire district- nice right? No, someone else's house in the district burned down and they couldn't respond in time. They got sued....
There's normally a reason for the procedures, if she had been more critical things could have been very bad. It says it took them 13 minutes to get to the hospital which is quite a long time. If the girl had died on the way or had any permanent problems, their opening the city up to massive litigation.
The volunteer fire department in my current town once responded to a fire outside the assigned fire district- nice right? No, someone else's house in the district burned down and they couldn't respond in time. They got sued....
It is a sad state we are in where people are so quick to sue or I should say a lawyer gets involved looking for a pay day.
The firefighters broke the rules. Common sense tells us that they did the right thing but possible litigation if something had happened makes the fire chief enforce the rules.
I'm sure these guys will be reinstated and if not then they can rest easy knowing they did the right things at the time.
Suspension was the right call as they violated a significant policy. It happened to have turned out OK, but what if it hadn't? What if she needed ALS and all they had was BLS? The policies are there for a reason, and the safety of the patient. Being subsequently reinstatement was the right decision and sent a clear message to the firefighters. Firefighting and EMS are semi military in structure and following commands and policies is an integral part of their success. if you let this infraction stand, where is the line about which infractions will be tolerated and which won't. I would have made the same decision.
Sad...... THEY PUT THE CHILDS WELFARE FIRST AND GOT SCREWED FOR IT
Whats happend to this country??
I wonder the same. If a human life is in danger, and there were people equipped to help right then and there especially, I dont see how they would get anything other then a commendation for it. Yes they got reinstated but there should have been no issue in the first place. Its mind boggling.
We have become a cold, divided society. Look at the cases where someone was being attacked or In other trouble, and bystanders stood by or filmed it instead of helping. Some people stand up to help but it seems to be the minority.
Beautiful world..... marred by human stupidity and selfishness.
Two Virginia volunteer firefighters were suspended for transporting an 18-month-old girl to the hospital in a fire engine last Saturday, ultimately saving her life.
Captain James Kelley and Sgt. Virgil Bloom of the Falmouth Volunteer Fire Department in Fredericksburg were the first to respond to a call of a child having a seizure at an undisclosed location near a McDonald’s and took her to a nearby hospital, according to Fox 5 DC.
Kelley explained to Fox 5 DC Saturday he told the driver to turn the fire engine on because the child was in desperate need of medical care and the nearest ambulance was about 10 to 15 minutes away. He said when he asked where the nearest medic was, he received vague responses.
The fire engine picked up the child and transported her to Mary Washington Hospital. A separate ambulance requested to meet with the firefighters at the Falmouth Station, but Kelley denied the request because of the proximity to the hospital.
The girl was put on oxygen in the fire engine and was in the trauma room within 13 minutes of the time the call came in, Fox 5 DC reported.
Brian Nunamaker, the girl’s father, told the Fox affiliate the incident occurred as he and his daughter were coming back from running errands. He said he pulled over by the McDonald’s and was assisted by a passerby as well.
“As a parent, you feel extremely helpless to be unable to assist the most important person in the world during such a time of emergency,” Nunamaker said in a statement. “Worst case scenarios run through your head while you are hoping for the best. The eternity of waiting for help to arrive was surprisingly non-existent in this situation. I was surprised at how quickly help had arrived in the form of a fire truck."
When the firefighters arrived on the scene, Nunamaker’s daughter was limp but she was still breathing and had a pulse. His daughter arrived at the hospital and started to have another seizure, but it stopped momentarily. Nunamaker said his daughter was later transferred to VCU and was later discharged.
I dont get it... why would they be suspended? Did saving a life break some kind of firefighter's code or rule or something?
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Of course if things had gone badly they and the fire company could have faced big law suits..
