Boston Marathon Explosion

[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?

 

[Tigger]

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.

 

[boingo]

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.

 

[jrm818]

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....

 

[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

 

[Aidey]

I think that was JP's point.

 

[JPINFV]

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?

 

[boingo]

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.

 

[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.

 

[JPINFV]

Second suspect is now in custody.

 

[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.

 

[MMiz]

Second suspect is now in custody.

Fantastic news!

 

[JPINFV]

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.

 

[NYMedic828]

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.

 

[lightsandsirens5]

Second suspect is now in custody.

Should have heard the cheering here at work!

 

[VFlutter]

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

 

[chaz90]

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

 

[Handsome Robb]

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.

 

[chaz90]

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

 

[Achilles]

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.