Evacuating a hospital due to a wildfire

NPO

NPO

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A wild fire in the easter county is growing uncontrollably. 30,000acres, 0% containment. The mountain communities are without power, water, gas and phones.

Today Hall Ambulance mobilized a fleet of ambulances and support personnel to evacuate a hospital with no power or water.

The area is served by a smaller company, which was immediately overwhelmed by calls for service.

In all nearly 70 patients were relocated in under 3 hours. Impressive on all fronts.

Kudos to all of those who stepped up from our EMTs and medics, to the hospitals and SNFs accepting the patients.

HALL AMBULANCE PRESS RELEASE said:
ERSKINE FIRE RELATED: Sixty-Nine Skilled Nursing Facility Patients Being Evacuated from Kern Valley Hospital

Sixty-nine residents of the skilled nursing facility at Kern Valley Hospital are in the process of being evacuated in response to the Erskine Fire. Hall Ambulance Service, Inc. was requested to assist in this enormous logistical endeavor, working in cooperation with the County of Kern EMS Department, and Liberty Ambulance, which is the contracted paramedic provider for the Kern River Valley region.

The request was received at 5p.m. this evening, and is expected to continue through midnight. Preparations for deployment included an emergency call-back effort resulting in 40 paramedics, EMTs and 2 critical care transport nurses are being utilized. The Hall Ambulance resources and EMS personnel committed to this assignment are in addition to, and are not impacting the Company’s 9-1-1 paramedic response system.

Fifteen ambulances, a medi-van, multi-passenger bus, and a paramedic field supervisor unit are being utilized to transport the patients to skilled nursing facilities throughout Kern County who have opened up additional beds to accept the evacuees. Bakersfield Memorial Hospital has offered to accept 20 of the patients.

Accompanying the EMS crews are nursing staff from San Joaquin Community Hospital and Kern Medical who were picked up by Hall Ambulance resources and taken to Kern Valley Hospital to accompany ambulatory patients who are able to ride on a bus. Kern Regional Transit is providing additional resources to assist with moving those individuals.

Hall Ambulance Service will provide additional updates as new information becomes available.
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That bottom picture is very eerie.
 
Thanks to everyone who came up and helped out. The Liberty crews that normally work the area have been running calls non-stop, on a 72s and 96s, while their own families evacuate.
I don't work there anymore, but I've still got ties to the community. 120 structures burned, 2 fatalities confirmed and many more missing/unaccounted for.
 
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My AMR op was faced with something similar during the Waldo Canyon Fire in 2012. 105 residents were evacuated using AMR units from four or five counties, mutual aid ambulances from ours, and city buses. One of the few things that really went well during that incident.
 
I had to go and post about this. So now, instead of enjoying my day off, I'm sitting at a fire camp mutual aiding the local ambulance company on the fire standby.
 
Had I given up on this medic school endeavor and returned to Tulare as a seasonal my station would've been the first in from our unit to this fire.

Pretty impressive that 70 patients were moved in under 3 hours. Strong work guys! And impressive pictures NPO, I've been seeing some instagram pictures of the fire line at night. Some people are getting stunning shots.
 
gotshirtz001 said:
You probably would have hooked it and we could have avoided all this mess...

Jerk.

#selfish

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Tulare drill one man hoselay lol. No but in all seriousness immediate need strike team to Kern Co we were typically first due, thats all I'm saying. Not saying I would've stopped the fire all by myself. Thats being a jerk. Not sure if you're serious or just being sarcastic. Its a simple statement thats being twisted to something its not.
 
CALEMT said:
Tulare drill one man hoselay lol. No but in all seriousness immediate need strike team to Kern Co we were typically first due, thats all I'm saying. Not saying I would've stopped the fire all by myself. Thats being a jerk. Not sure if you're serious or just being sarcastic. Its a simple statement thats being twisted to something its not.
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I am saying you could have saved us.
I am also being sarcastic.


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