Northfield ambulance's doors glued shut (New Jersey)

MMiz

MMiz

I put the M in EMTLife
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Northfield ambulance's doors glued shut

NORTHFIELD - The debate over switching the city's EMS service from the Northfield Rescue Squad to AtlantiCare was intense and heated, but at least it wasn't juvenile - until recently, apparently, when a Northfield Rescue Squad crew arrived at a transport job and discovered the back doors to its ambulance had been glued shut.

Northfield police are still investigating the Sept. 29 incident, which was discovered when the squad, now handling transport for private doctors and other clients, arrived at a patient's house for a scheduled pick-up.

Read more!
 
Unbelievable. When they find the culprits, I hope they don't have a job for much longer.
 
Back in the 60's, Brooklyn, NY each funeral home would have one hearse adaptable to haul living patient's in emergencies. We're talking stretcher, O2 (maybe!), bandage box and kidney basin. Their "customers" came from connections with families who needed help to get primarily elders to the hospital. Emergency calls were doled out by the Police Department on a rotation basis to prevent any one funeral home from cornering the DOA market. Sometimes, bored FH employees would cruise the streets at night, red light flashing on top, looking for accidents. Sometimes, a couple would be at the same one. Fistfights for who got the "victim(s)" often occurred.

In the 70's it was pretty much the same thing, as "Mom and Pop" local services and funeral homes got overrun by newly emerging private companies. Yes, there were races to the scene to get first dibs on the patients because, well, we were better than those guys, weren't we?

And then, in the 80's, sad to say, I found myself playing the same games with Fire Departments seeking to expand their services.

I believe this is a continuation of an ancient tradition that started sometime when the first two chariots went to pick up a wounded Gladiator.
 
Disgusting, makes it harder to access equipment that may have been necessary to save a person's life.

It remind me of a time when some idiot broke into an airport and slashed the tires on the entire Air Ambulance fleet. There should be tougher laws on damage to emergency vehicles.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
firetender said:
I believe this is a continuation of an ancient tradition that started sometime when the first two chariots went to pick up a wounded Gladiator.
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Hey Tender, did you run that call? I'd heard about it, but I was off that day...:P Good to see you back my friend!!
 
First off, I am writing this as a paramedic who works in Atlantic County.
The following has nothing to do with my employment or employer(s).
Couple points to ponder.....
They don't do emergencies.
They "lost" a lot of city owned equipment after they lost the contract for City of Northfield EMS.
They should NOT be using the name Northfield, as they have NOTHING to do with the City, outside of being a social club, excuse me, volunteer EMS agency who does nothing but interfacility transfers, if that.
AtlantiCare should NOT have been mentioned in this article. At all.
Mentioning them is nothing short of inflammatory.
There is no indication that AtlantiCare has/had anything to do with this crime.
 
So with all that said, BLS, are you suggesting it was okay to glue their doors shut? That's not a prank. That's destruction of owned property. I hope someone is arrested, loses their job and if certified, loses their certification. They should be charged with endangering lives, since, it is an ambulance.
 
dewd09 said:
So with all that said, BLS, are you suggesting it was okay to glue their doors shut? That's not a prank. That's destruction of owned property. I hope someone is arrested, loses their job and if certified, loses their certification. They should be charged with endangering lives, since, it is an ambulance.
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I don't see where he's saying that at all, only that the other company shouldn't have been named because there is no proof at this time that they were involved in any way.
 
MMiz said:
Northfield ambulance's doors glued shut

NORTHFIELD - The debate over switching the city's EMS service from the Northfield Rescue Squad to AtlantiCare was intense and heated, but at least it wasn't juvenile - until recently, apparently, when a Northfield Rescue Squad crew arrived at a transport job and discovered the back doors to its ambulance had been glued shut.

Northfield police are still investigating the Sept. 29 incident, which was discovered when the squad, now handling transport for private doctors and other clients, arrived at a patient's house for a scheduled pick-up.

Read more!
Click to expand...

Well, it sure isn't a gag now but, someday it will make a good urban legend.
This kind of nonsense has always gone on from time to time. :glare:
 
dewd09 said:
So with all that said, BLS, are you suggesting it was okay to glue their doors shut? That's not a prank. That's destruction of owned property. I hope someone is arrested, loses their job and if certified, loses their certification. They should be charged with endangering lives, since, it is an ambulance.
Click to expand...

I ask you to point out where I even suggested that.
I pointed out that their previous actions. There are many people who they have pissed off who could have done it.
Singling out AtlantiCare because they took Northfield's EMS contract is juvenile.

Endangering lives?
Not so sure about that one. All they do is, at most, interfacility transfers. NO ONE will be calling them for EMS assistance.
 
Yeah, I don't know if I'd consider this a prank either. We are famous for practical jokes in EMS but Glueing the doors shut on the unit??? Thats really a little out there almost as good as putting a spineboard strap in the cab of the unit to hold the 2 doors together so no one can open the door to the unit.

Should they have charges booked against them? yeah...deffinatly
Should they loose their Certs? I'm not too big on that Idea
Should they loose their job? If it was affiliated with a company, yes...if this was a person who took it upon his/her own to do this...no
 
Is it a prank?
Absolutely NOT.
Charges should be pressed.
Just because I don't like them and think they are cry babies doesn't change the fact what happened was wrong, and delayed a pt from getting to her apointment.
 
I agree this was not a prank.

Why was it not discovered until they went to pick up a patient? I would think a good rig check would have discovered the doors not operable.
 
flhtci01 said:
I agree this was not a prank.

Why was it not discovered until they went to pick up a patient? I would think a good rig check would have discovered the doors not operable.
Click to expand...

Glad someone finally picked up on this one! Guess the crew thought the truck would check itself that day.

It was a poorly thought out prank. Malicious mischief. Bad taste. Bad idea. Bad business. But, the intent was probably supposed to be a gag.
 
There is no daily shifts or rig checks. It is a social club that does interfacility transports, wishing to get back into prehospital EMS.
 
BLSBoy said:
First off, I am writing this as a paramedic who works in Atlantic County.
The following has nothing to do with my employment or employer(s).
Couple points to ponder.....
They don't do emergencies.
They "lost" a lot of city owned equipment after they lost the contract for City of Northfield EMS.
They should NOT be using the name Northfield, as they have NOTHING to do with the City, outside of being a social club, excuse me, volunteer EMS agency who does nothing but interfacility transfers, if that.
AtlantiCare should NOT have been mentioned in this article. At all.
Mentioning them is nothing short of inflammatory.
There is no indication that AtlantiCare has/had anything to do with this crime.
Click to expand...


shouldn't you update you name to ALSboy?
 
firecoins said:
shouldn't you update you name to ALSboy?
Click to expand...

Yea, but that requires asking if I can do it, and then I'll forget what my login is, and then I'll just get confused and frustrated.
:P^_^
 
BLSBoy said:
They should NOT be using the name Northfield, as they have NOTHING to do with the City, outside of being a social club, excuse me, volunteer EMS agency
Click to expand...

I know of plenty of business that use the name of their city or town as part of their business name. As long as the squad does not use City of before their name then in my view it's perfectly legal for them to use the name of their city in their name.
 
fortsmithman said:
I know of plenty of business that use the name of their city or town as part of their business name. As long as the squad does not use City of before their name then in my view it's perfectly legal for them to use the name of their city in their name.
Click to expand...

Northfield Rescue Squad, Inc. is their name.
 
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