# Boston Marathon Explosion



## MassEMT-B

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...eard-near-finish-line-of-boston-marathon?lite

From Boston live audio everyone is being cleared from area till bomb squad to clear. MCI has been declared.


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## Medic Tim

I am listening in on the police feed and following on ccn.


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## STXmedic

Doesn't Tigger work Boston?


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## Medic Tim

PoeticInjustice said:


> Doesn't Tigger work Boston?



I believe he does


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## MassEMT-B

I almost worked a Marathon detail. I am happy I didn't but I have a lot of friends working today. I am hoping everyone stays safe. I'm pretty sure Tigger moved to CO.


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## ffemt8978

MassEMT-B said:


> I almost worked a Marathon detail. I am happy I didn't but I have a lot of friends working today. I am hoping everyone stays safe. I'm pretty sure Tigger moved to CO.



Well, that's where he got served his subpeona.


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## Tigger

Medic Tim said:


> I believe he does



Not anymore, I moved to Colorado permanently. I'm trying to get in touch with some former coworkers, but right now local news says 2 dead and 22 injured as a result of two separate bombs. 

live feed from FOX25: http://www.myfoxboston.com/category/246064/breaking-news-livestream

Very concerning, cannot get in touch with my family, no cell calls going through.

ETA I have gotten in touch with them now, my sister is at BC and it's really popular to go watch the marathon since everyone gets school off downtown, which she was. She is fine though and back in her dorm.


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## Medic Tim

Tigger said:


> Not anymore, I moved to Colorado permanently. I'm trying to get in touch with some former coworkers, but right now local news says 2 dead and 22 injured as a result of two separate bombs.
> 
> live feed from FOX25: http://www.myfoxboston.com/category/246064/breaking-news-livestream
> 
> Very concerning, cannot get in touch with my family, no cell calls going through.



glad to hear you are safe. I hope you can get in touch with your family soon.


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## medicsb

I have a lot of family in friends in and around Boston and via the internets they're reporting that the phone system is not working (likely over-burdened).  So, social media or email is likely the best way to try and communicate for now.


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## DrParasite

I read that they shut down cell towers to prevent them from potentially activating any other bombs.  Plus I'm sure everything that is up is overwhelmed.  Try texting, you might have better luck getting through.

Lots of pictures and videos of Boston EMS, Boston PD, and Boston FD, as well as all the medical staff for the event.  looks pretty bad.

The only good thing (if you can call it good) was there was already a heavy EMS and PD presence of additional staffing for the marathon, so when the explosion happened, all the field staff and doctors changed their views from looking after the runners to treating the wounded.

2 undetonated devices found by BPD, 1 has seen been detonated by the bomb squad.


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## MMiz

Such horrible news.  My thoughts are with those affected by this apparent deliberate act.

Watching the live feed it looks like there was a third explosion at the JFK library.


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## Achilles

MMiz said:


> Such horrible news.  My thoughts are with those affected by this apparent deliberate act.
> 
> Watching the live feed it looks like there was a third explosion at the JFK library.



Ya they're conflicting reports of that being related or not.


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## Aidey

Achilles said:


> Ya they're conflicting reports of that being related or not.



That would be one HELL of a coincidence.


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## mycrofft

It is common practice to shut down cell towers pre-emptively to avoid overload and keep certain channels open for authorities, plus cell towers which are overloaded will trip themselves.

REMEMBER, most of what you hear on the media today will be wrong.


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## medicsb

DrParasite said:


> I read that they shut down cell towers to prevent them from potentially activating any other bombs.  Plus I'm sure everything that is up is overwhelmed.  Try texting, you might have better luck getting through.



Yeah, I just read that they have been intentionally shut down.


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## chaz90

Ugly all around. Best wishes to Boston EMS, fire, PD, and all others affected by this.


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## Rialaigh

Prayers with the victims and their families. 

I applaud the response and preparation by Boston PD, EMS, and Fire. Everything from the videos seems like the response by first responders and the initial medical care provided was absolutely top notch and everyone was well prepared.


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## bigbaldguy

No time to read through thread but my thoughts ar with those effected by the events in Boston. Please stay safe if you're in the area and if you're one of the responders keep safe  and make us proud.


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## JPINFV

On the somewhat bright side, Boston EMS treats the marathon as a big MCI drill anyways. So they're already set up with command posts, surge capacity, and lots of mutual aid already. Short of not having an attack, this was the best possible time and place.


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## mycrofft

A news reporter announced the Boston area had responded rapidly with scores of ambulances appearing.
Probably didn't know they were staged. ICS does have some good points if done seriously.


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## medicdan

I'm working on a coverage truck right now, staged to transport more patients. Will update when I can. For now, it seems 2 deaths, all hospitals on lockdown, everyone in ems safe, some police injuries.


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## mycrofft

Only two fatalities. Could have been so very much worse. Reports of other devices in city are early, probably premature, but potentially very worrisome.

How clean is the scene before EMS is allowed in? All the loose backpacks watercannoned  and water bottles detonated in place first?


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## bigbaldguy

mycrofft said:


> Only two fatalities. Could have been so very much worse. Reports of other devices in city are early, probably premature, but potentially very worrisome.
> 
> How clean is the scene before EMS is allowed in? All the loose backpacks watercannoned  and water bottles detonated in place first?



Scene safety becomes very relative in a situation like this I imagine.


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## Household6

I'm seeing this news through a different set of eyes than my friends and family.. I suppose it's easy for me to sit on my couch like a sofa bison and play armchair quarterback, but...

What are the chances of scores of medics and physicians already being mobile and on the street during an attack like this? The doctors and other white coats running down the street moments after it happened? They couldn't have been more prepared.. MANG trained in CLS and organizing the MCI immediately. 

The man who had lost both his legs had medics all over him so quickly, that he never lost consciousness. They had bomb sniffing K9s RIGHT THERE before they even evac'd the spectators.

Boston kicked *** today.


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## Tigger

It sounds like a flash fire occurred at the JFK library that is not likely related to the bombings. 

I've seen a few of my old ambulances and our Boston sup in pictures along with a lot of units from emt.dan's company. My old place did a call back for off duty employees as well. 

Boston EMS puts a tremendous effort into the marathon, so as terrible as this is with all the spectators at least the coverage was there.


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## JPINFV

Household6 said:


> What are the chances of scores of medics and physicians already being mobile and on the street during an attack like this? The doctors and other white coats running down the street moments after it happened? They couldn't have been more prepared.. MANG trained in CLS and organizing the MCI immediately.


On Boston Marathon day? Every year. Um... the terrorists (domestic or foreign) really didn't do their homework with this one because there's no city more prepared for an MCI than Boston on marathon day.


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## Bullets

bigbaldguy said:


> Scene safety becomes very relative in a situation like this I imagine.



scene was safe at 1449hrs

Watching this at the hospital today, one of our physicians commented on all the guys with physician vests on running into the fray.  Basically said that they will only get in the way of Ems, that doctors are really only effective in the ER with all of their tools at hand.  Field medicine is our ballpark and not something they should venture into. Doctors should go to the tents or the hospitals


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## MassEMT-B

Bullets said:


> scene was safe at 1449hrs
> 
> Watching this at the hospital today, one of our physicians commented on all the guys with physician vests on running into the fray.  Basically said that they will only get in the way of Ems, that doctors are really only effective in the ER with all of their tools at hand.  Field medicine is our ballpark and not something they should venture into. Doctors should go to the tents or the hospitals



Except it wasn't safe at 1449hrs. Another possible bomb was destroyed by the bomb squad and another one denoted at the JFK library.


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## NomadicMedic

MassEMT-B said:


> Except it wasn't safe at 1449hrs. Another possible bomb was destroyed by the bomb squad and another one denoted at the JFK library.



There was no bomb at the JFK library. It was a fire in the mechanical room. https://mobile.twitter.com/Boston_Police/status/323909232195944449


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## Aidey

They are now saying the JFK library fire was probably just a fire and not related.


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## Meursault

Household6 said:


> Boston kicked *** today.





JPINFV said:


> there's no city more prepared for an MCI than Boston on marathon day.


QFT x2

I was working elsewhere on the route, and everything went so well that I never even went in town. As far as I can tell from our traffic and what I'm looking at now, everyone did their jobs and did them damn well.


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## Brandon O

Boston did wonderfully. Every service operating in the city was called in, either to the incident or to cover the rest of the city, but from what I could tell (I was just north of town and didn't have to get pulled) the whole mess stayed on the left side of panic. Everyone is fried here but there's a great great infrastructure in place (EMS, hospitals, etc -- everything but throughput to move people in this old town) and everybody is stepping up.


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## medicsb

Oh, what the hell... I usually hate cheesy stuff like this, but I really love the Fred Rogers quote...


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## Brandon O

medicsb said:


> Oh, what the hell... I usually hate cheesy stuff like this, but I really love the Fred Rogers quote...



It's really summing up the mood here.


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## silver

Bullets said:


> scene was safe at 1449hrs
> 
> Watching this at the hospital today, one of our physicians commented on all the guys with physician vests on running into the fray.  Basically said that they will only get in the way of Ems, that doctors are really only effective in the ER with all of their tools at hand.  Field medicine is our ballpark and not something they should venture into. Doctors should go to the tents or the hospitals



Its also important to know your players though. Tell the MA-1 DMAT and BAA physicians and nurses that they don't belong in the field...


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## medicdan

Brandon Oto said:


> Boston did wonderfully. Every service operating in the city was called in, either to the incident or to cover the rest of the city, but from what I could tell (I was just north of town and didn't have to get pulled) the whole mess stayed on the left side of panic. Everyone is fried here but there's a great great infrastructure in place (EMS, hospitals, etc -- everything but throughput to move people in this old town) and everybody is stepping up.



Also QFT. I was pulled into the city, and spent some of it doing coverage, and clearing out facilities, and by all measures things went very well. Hospitals were already in their MCI modes, but even those normally outside the marathon catchment area had their vests out and managing with whatever came their way. The privates flooded the city with ambulances, and perhaps most importantly, MA-1 DMAT and H+H were already there, with everything set up. Good job to all, I can give more when more coherent.


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## JPINFV

emt.dan said:


> Also QFT. I was pulled into the city, and spent some of it doing coverage, and clearing out facilities, and by all measures things went very well. Hospitals were already in their MCI modes, but even those normally outside the marathon catchment area had their vests out and managing with whatever came their way. The privates flooded the city with ambulances, and perhaps most importantly, MA-1 DMAT and H+H were already there, with everything set up. Good job to all, I can give more when more coherent.




That's the one problem I have with giving unbridled praise for how the Boston EMS system (not just specifically Boston EMS). There's a huge difference between handling something like this when you already have all your toys out ready to play with as well as your friends over prior to everything starting... and trying to organize everything on the fly on a normal day. 

If this would have happened, say, Saturday night just before or after a Red Suxs game, it would have been 100 times worse.


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## Bullets

MassEMT-B said:


> Except it wasn't safe at 1449hrs. Another possible bomb was destroyed by the bomb squad and another one denoted at the JFK library.



Wasnt the first explosion at 1450? So before that explosion everyone thought the scene was safe. Just shows how the scene is never "safe", there is always a threat, even if you dont know it

And i just thought it was interesting that a Doctor would say that, that a physician isnt as effective without his tools in the hospital


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## Martyn

My thoughts to everyone:

Just listening to a report on BBC news, a guy that knew the family of the 8 year old that got killed (I quote loosely):
'his dad had just finished running the marathon and he went and gave his dad a hug. He ran back to his mum while his dad went to register his time, and the explosion went off. A friend of the family (a firefighter) picked a lady up and took her to a waiting ambulance and didn't realise who it was until he put her down. He realised that she had lost a leg and went back to find it, but couldn't'

I am not a softy, but I type this with tears in my eyes


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## Brandon O

JPINFV said:


> That's the one problem I have with giving unbridled praise for how the Boston EMS system (not just specifically Boston EMS). There's a huge difference between handling something like this when you already have all your toys out ready to play with as well as your friends over prior to everything starting... and trying to organize everything on the fly on a normal day.
> 
> If this would have happened, say, Saturday night just before or after a Red Suxs game, it would have been 100 times worse.



Of course this is true. The whole thing went off kinda like a drill because, in a sense, it already was one. But I think the point is less to give out grades than to be glad it wasn't worse.


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## medicdan

Agreed. Ive been to a lot of marathon medical planning meetings, and they've always treated it as a planned mci drill. I'm sorry I can't go to the debriefing today... it would be interesting to hear what the response/feedback is after the cisd stuff is over.


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## dmc2007

I was down on the south shore on a dialysis run when the whole thing went down.  My partner and i were just talking about how smoothly the day had gone.  Then my phone started vibrating off the hook with "Are you ok?".  We cleared our call as fast as we safely could and then headed north.  Once in the city we were sent to the staging area, and spent a couple hours or so in the long line of trucks on Columbus Ave.  Ended up not being needed there (as most trucks), and spent the rest of the evening clearing the backlog of discharges to free up beds.  Stayed for extra overnight coverage, but thankfully we weren't needed beyond our normal call load.  

Strong work all.  Don't be afraid to seek help if you need it.


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## Household6

Our church is sending a group of pastors and clergy out East this afternoon.. It's never a bad idea to take a time out and have a cup of joe with someone like them..


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## Chimpie

JPINFV said:


> That's the one problem I have with giving unbridled praise for how the Boston EMS system (not just specifically Boston EMS). There's a huge difference between handling something like this when you already have all your toys out ready to play with as well as your friends over prior to everything starting... and trying to organize everything on the fly on a normal day.
> 
> If this would have happened, say, Saturday night just before or after a Red Suxs game, it would have been 100 times worse.



But that's the point.  Boston EMS and EVERYONE ELSE involved with the race was in place and responded to the (bombing) event.  They did have their 'toys out' and they were ready to use them.  And for that they should be applauded.


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## STXmedic

Chimpie said:


> But that's the point.  Boston EMS and EVERYONE ELSE involved with the race was in place and responded to the (bombing) event.  They did have their 'toys out' and they were ready to use them.  And for that they should be applauded.



Exactly. If they weren't as prepared as they were, they'd have been highly criticized for it.


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## medicsb

Boston EMS has put tremendous effort into managing the race as an MCI and it paid off.  I don't think they just accidentally happened to have the right people in the right place at the right time, as some seem to suggest.  I don't think you'd necessarily get the same results at any marathon.  I do not think things would go as well in my city, sadly.


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## JPINFV

medicsb said:


> Boston EMS has put tremendous effort into managing the race as an MCI and it paid off.  I don't think they just accidentally happened to have the right people in the right place at the right time, as some seem to suggest.  I don't think you'd necessarily get the same results at any marathon.  I do not think things would go as well in my city, sadly.



I'm not suggesting that at all. I'm suggesting that if this had happened at any other time, say 4th of July, New Years Eve, post Red Soxs game, where everything wasn't already set up, that things would have ended up much worse.


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## Chimpie

JPINFV said:


> I'm not suggesting that at all. I'm suggesting that if this had happened at any other time, say 4th of July, New Years Eve, post Red Soxs game, where everything wasn't already set up, that things would have ended up much worse.



And what's your point of saying that?

The fact is that they were prepared and it proves that preparation pays off.

You've said twice now that if things weren't already set up that the outcome would have been different.  That's like saying if the two planes didn't crash into the Twin Towers they wouldn't have collapsed.


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## Tigger

JPINFV said:


> I'm not suggesting that at all. I'm suggesting that if this had happened at any other time, say 4th of July, New Years Eve, post Red Soxs game, where everything wasn't already set up, that things would have ended up much worse.



For what it's worth the marathon is not the only thing that sees this sort of EMS coverage. 4th of July and News Years Eve (just as examples) see a lot of extra EMS resources already in play, though the transport capability is not the same as with the marathon. I can't help but notice that every large event that I go to outside of Boston has a much lower EMS presence than in Boston. I'm not saying it's ever inadequate, just that for whatever reason there is extra redundancy built into many of Boston's large events.


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## JPINFV

Chimpie said:


> And what's your point of saying that?
> 
> The fact is that they were prepared and it proves that preparation pays off.
> 
> You've said twice now that if things weren't already set up that the outcome would have been different.  That's like saying if the two planes didn't crash into the Twin Towers they wouldn't have collapsed.




Actually, that's no where close to what I'm saying since the attack still happens. It's like the difference between a trauma team working up a patient with prior warning (thus being able to assemble and prepare) and no prior warning. Are you seriously going to argue that the fact that command posts, significant resources on scene, and an operating incident command system both made managing it significantly easier... and is unlikely to be present in pretty much any other incident?


It's like saying Drug X is a wonder drug (given conditions A, B, and C) where conditions A, B, and C pretty much are never present.


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## Chimpie

JPINFV said:


> Actually, that's no where close to what I'm saying since the attack still happens. It's like the difference between a trauma team working up a patient with prior warning (thus being able to assemble and prepare) and no prior warning. *Are you seriously going to argue that the fact that command posts, significant resources on scene, and an operating incident command system both made managing it significantly easier... and is unlikely to be present in pretty much any other incident?*
> 
> 
> It's like saying Drug X is a wonder drug (given conditions A, B, and C) where conditions A, B, and C pretty much are never present.



I'm still trying to figure out what point you're arguing.


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## JPINFV

Chimpie said:


> I'm still trying to figure out what point you're arguing.




Atypical setup is atypical. Atypical situations makes extrapolation difficult to impossible. 

In other words, when looking at the EMS response in a wider lens... 

Your millage may vary. 

Not valid everywhere. 

Buyer beware.


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## Chimpie

JPINFV said:


> Atypical setup is atypical. Atypical situations makes extrapolation difficult to impossible.
> 
> In other words, when looking at the EMS response in a wider lens...
> 
> Your millage may vary.
> 
> Not valid everywhere.
> 
> Buyer beware.



But again, you posted...



JPINFV said:


> That's the one problem I have with giving unbridled praise for how the Boston EMS system (not just specifically Boston EMS). There's a huge difference between handling something like this when you already have all your toys out ready to play with as well as your friends over prior to everything starting... and trying to organize everything on the fly on a normal day.
> 
> If this would have happened, say, Saturday night just before or after a Red Suxs game, it would have been 100 times worse.



The reason they should receive your praise for this response is that they were prepared.  Now keep in mind that the command posts and medical tents were not there (primarily) in case of a terrorist attack.  They were to treat those suffering from injury or illness during the race.  As a secondary or latter reason, they were there in case something like this happened.

They adapted to the situation and took care of business.  If you don't give them praise for that, then that's sad.


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## JPINFV

Chimpie said:


> But again, you posted...
> 
> 
> 
> That's the one problem I have with giving *unbridled *praise for how the  Boston EMS system (not just specifically Boston EMS). There's a huge  difference between handling something like this when you already have  all your toys out ready to play with as well as your friends over prior  to everything starting... and trying to organize everything on the fly  on a normal day.
> 
> If this would have happened, say, Saturday night just before or after a Red Suxs game, it would have been 100 times worse.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The reason they should receive your praise for this response is that they were prepared.  Now keep in mind that the command posts and medical tents were not there (primarily) in case of a terrorist attack.  They were to treat those suffering from injury or illness during the race.  As a secondary or latter reason, they were there in case something like this happened.
> 
> They adapted to the situation and took care of business.  If you don't give them praise for that, then that's sad.
Click to expand...


Emphasis added.

*un·bri·dled  *

/ˌənˈbrīdld/
Adjective
Uncontrolled; unconstrained:  "unbridled lust".


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## Chimpie

JPINFV said:


> Emphasis added.
> 
> *un·bri·dled  *
> 
> /ˌənˈbrīdld/
> Adjective
> Uncontrolled; unconstrained:  "unbridled lust".



My point is still the same.  They should get your unbridled praise.  They were prepared, they responded, they kicked ***.


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## JPINFV

It's significantly easier to adapt a command system that's already in place than create one from scratch. 

They were prepared because... well... they were set up for a huge event. Any other day they would have been much less prepared. We can't recognize that little fact apparently.


This is like a fire engine practicing hose drills when the house across the street catches fire. Um, they better "kick ***" because there's no real excuse for not doing so.


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## Chimpie

JPINFV said:


> It's significantly easier to adapt a command system that's already in place than create one from scratch.
> 
> They were prepared because... well... they were set up for a huge event. Any other day they would have been much less prepared. We can't recognize that little fact apparently.



But that's the point, JP.  The system was in place.


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## Achilles

Chimpie said:


> But that's the point, JP.  The system was in place.



It's a yearly event, they see how well it went the year prior and adapt for the next year. I give them praise, but JP has a really good point.


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## Chimpie

Achilles said:


> It's a yearly event, they see how well it went the year prior and adapt for the next year. I give them praise, but JP has a really good point.



No, he doesn't.  He's saying that they shouldn't receive "unbridled praise" because they were set up to respond to the event.  He's saying that if this happened on a different day then the response would be different.  Well, duh.  Of course it would be.  But that's not what being discussed.


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## JPINFV

Chimpie said:


> But that's the point, JP.  The system was in place.




That's exactly my point. There's a huge difference than if the system wasn't in place. This is essentially having a full on MCI drill... and having an MCI across the street. If you can't provide a competent response in that situation... well... umm... disband the entire thing because it's just that rotten. 

99.9999% of MCIs will not have command posts established and running prior to the event.

99.9999% of MCIs will not have ambulances idling on scene waiting. 

99.9999% of MCIs will not have the response area already back filled.

99.9999% of MCIs will not have hospitals already holding space open because they know they'll get slammed with patients anyways. 

99.9999% of MCIs will not have a significant medical presence on scene (essentially next door), including paramedics, nurses, and physicians in essentially a field hospital stocked with supplies. 

This IS THE yearly MCI drill for Boston. When Boston rolled out a new patient tracking system for MCI patients 5-6 years ago they tested it tracking Boston Marathon patients. 


Apparently, we're not supposed to recognize that this was unlike 99.9999% of MCIs because... well... I have no clue why we can't recognize that.


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## Brandon O

I have no idea what scorecards will be awarded in the well-reasoned aftermath of this, guys, and I hope we do learn things. But it's been barely a day and people are still in the ICU. As a matter of taste, can we hold off on the tomatometer?


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## Tigger

JPINFV said:


> This IS THE yearly MCI drill for Boston. When Boston rolled out a new patient tracking system for MCI patients 5-6 years ago they tested it tracking Boston Marathon patients.



It's not a drill, it is an actual incident.

Without the preparations in place the event would doubtless overwhelm typical available resources, which is the definition of MCI isn't it?

This time there were more injuries of a different variety, but the marathon places a large burden on EMS and the greater healthcare system every year.


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## boingo

JPINFV said:


> I'm not suggesting that at all. I'm suggesting that if this had happened at any other time, say 4th of July, New Years Eve, post Red Soxs game, where everything wasn't already set up, that things would have ended up much worse.



But they are set up for the 4th, 1st night and playoff games...So...if there were a ficticious large scale event that BEMS didn't prepare for, yes, it would not have gone as well.  Good thing they prepare for large scale events.


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## jrm818

boingo said:


> But they are set up for the 4th, 1st night and playoff games...So...if there were a ficticious large scale event that BEMS didn't prepare for, yes, it would not have gone as well.  Good thing they prepare for large scale events.



Thumbs up.

I feel like most people would see anticipating and preparing for bad situations as something deserving of more praise, not less.  That's probably one of the lessons here....


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## Bullets

I do wonder how this would have gone down if this happened on a thursday night as a regular season Red Sox, Bruins or Celtics game was letting out


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## Aidey

I think that was JP's point.


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## JPINFV

Aidey said:


> I think that was JP's point.




Shhh. Boston is always prepared... and I can't have a nuanced point about mass casualties happening at the height of deployment (not just preparation, but having that plan actually implemented prior to the event), and say, the events in West, TX. 

Would anyone argue that the events of West, TX would not have been drastically different if there was an ICS system in place, a field hospital with paramedics, RNs, and physicians immediately outside the blast radius, and numerous ambulances already on standby waiting prior to the actual fire and subsequent explosion?


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## boingo

JPINFV said:


> Shhh. Boston is always prepared... and I can't have a nuanced point about mass casualties happening at the height of deployment (not just preparation, but having that plan actually implemented prior to the event), and say, the events in West, TX.
> 
> Would anyone argue that the events of West, TX would not have been drastically different if there was an ICS system in place, a field hospital with paramedics, RNs, and physicians immediately outside the blast radius, and numerous ambulances already on standby waiting prior to the actual fire and subsequent explosion?



Are you comparing the response capability of a rural community of 2,800 people to that of an urban area of a million?  Really?  There is no comparison.  If the resources in Boston were not staged, yes, it would have taken more than 18 minutes to transport all the victims, you have a firm grasp of the obvious.


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## systemet

It seems like Boston EMS, and a number of other agencies, did an excellent job anticipating, and preparing for a potential MCI.  Brandon makes a great point, that it's too early to know a lot of information, especially the outcomes for critical patients. I understand this has garnered an enormous amount of media attention, that probably makes it much more stressful for anyone in the Boston area.  I apologise if I add to this stress at all, but I think this is a relevant topic for conversation here.

I don't want to speak for JP, who's a very articulate individual, and capable of defending himself. The point I hear him making is that this situation worked well because there was an anticipated risk, extra units and resources were deployed, and an ICS system was in place prior to the event. He's asking, as I understand, how well would most EMS systems deal with a similar event if it didn't occur at a prestigious international sporting event, where preparations had already been made, but if it happened on any ordinary day?

I think this is also valid point, right?  I know my system struggles to resource itself through its normal call volume. Some days we seem to be unable to drop a truck on a stabbing or a cardiac arrest in a timely manner. Add an MCI situation, and a system that's already in a state of near-collapse may fail spectacularly.

Anecdotally, my experience has been that when this does happen, it eventually gets taken care of.  People are reluctant to criticise the response, and often make substantial allowances for delayed response times, out of recognition that this an extraordinary situation. 

None of this should be taken as criticism of the excellent work done by our colleagues in Boston. All the best.


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## JPINFV

Second suspect is now in custody.


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## NYMedic828

Scariest part about all this too me is just how easy it is to make such a lethal device with things you can buy at the local store.

Not to say it isn't awful what happened but the devastation of such a device on the corner times square or in a packed train car pulling into penn station would be far more lethal and overall destructive to the country. 

The fact that anyone can make one of these with very minimal knowledge and bring it anywhere is scary.

Hopefully they were alone and the marathon wasn't just a trial run.


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## MMiz

JPINFV said:


> Second suspect is now in custody.


Fantastic news!


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## JPINFV

NYMedic828 said:


> Scariest part about all this too me is just how easy it is to make such a lethal device with things you can buy at the local store.



True story... my Father once made chlorine gas because he was too lazy to make two trips around the pool. As such, he decided that mixing HCl and liquid chlorine was a good idea.


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## NYMedic828

JPINFV said:


> True story... my Father once made chlorine gas because he was too lazy to make two trips around the pool. As such, he decided that mixing HCl and liquid chlorine was a good idea.



I believe all these kids did was fill a pressure cooker with black powder and jam a detonator of some form in it. All things I can acquire for $150 within 10 minutes of my home. Scary.


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## lightsandsirens5

JPINFV said:


> Second suspect is now in custody.



Should have heard the cheering here at work!


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## VFlutter

Picture floating around Facebook. Not sure if it is confirmed or not.


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## chaz90

Sure looks legit, but we'll see. Looks like a King Tube there. Hopefully he survives so we can get some answers.


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## Handsome Robb

chaz90 said:


> Sure looks legit, but we'll see. Looks like a King Tube there. Hopefully he survives so we can get some answers.



And so he can rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life.

Life in prison is way worse than the death penalty in my opinion.


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## chaz90

Robb said:


> And so he can rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life.
> 
> Life in prison is way worse than the death penalty in my opinion.



Particularly for the martyr types


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## Achilles

Robb said:


> And so he can rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life.
> 
> Life in prison is way worse than the death penalty in my opinion.



I concur, I sure hope they do that with James Holmes, but that's my sentiment.


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## Aidey

The picture is either 1. Not real, 2. Real, but not him, 3. Real, and the medic didn't check for a gag, or 4. Real, and that isn't a king airway. This photo shows what is obviously a NRB (and a c-collar).


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## Bullets

Aidey said:


> The picture is either 1. Not real, 2. Real, but not him, 3. Real, and the medic didn't check for a gag, or 4. Real, and that isn't a king airway. This photo shows what is obviously a NRB (and a c-collar).



its definitley real, cousin is in the FBI, go sent away monday for an unspecified assignment, but he later confirmed he was there. Said ATF was providing most of the Tac Medics.


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