Paramedic confusion blamed in hotel deaths

[MariaCatEMT]

Paramedic confusion blamed in hotel deaths

Ocean City (AP) - An Ocean City emergency official says paramedics called to a motel after guests complained of nausea and headaches never checked a room where a man and his ten-year-old daughter lay dying of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Ocean City emergency services Director Joe Theobald says two ambulances responded to rooms 125 and 127 of the Days Inn Oceanfront on June 27th after receiving a 911 call around 9:30 a.m. regarding four people suffering from nausea and headaches.

Theobald says paramedics from a third ambulance responded to another 911 call made 20 minutes later from room 121. But they never checked the room because they thought they had the four ill people in their care.


Read more here...

 

[Jon]

Just a comment - this is Ocean City, Maryland (there are other Ocean Cities).

I wonder if they have CO alarms on their jump bags? Probably not... I would assume that most of the ambulances are "summer months" ambulances, and that they don't deal with the heater malfunctions, etc that we see in the winter.

 

[Ridryder911]

As well this should be a Fire Rescue problem, not EMS fault. They just responded and treated, it was the Fire responsibility to be sur all victims were accounted for.

R/r 911

 

[rescuecpt]

Yeah, where were the cops and firefighters? Around here we don't have CO monitors on our gear, only the FD does, and they usually only have one or two meters.

Although I have to say, if I was called to room 121, even if I thought we had the 4 patients already, I would double check to make sure.

How many people ask car accident patients how many other people were in the car? I was part of a drill once where a "patient" was ejected, but the car was such a mess you couldn't tell... unless you asked the driver if there was anyone else in the car, and there was. He was 30 feet away lying under a bush, which is totally believable given the way nutjobs drive around here. Imagine leaving him behind?

 

[Anomalous]

That's why, in the boonies, we get the FD to bring their Thermal Imaging Camera to check the bean fields for more victims...

Bob

 

[Margaritaville]

co deaths

MedicstudentJon,

Just to clarify - they are not summer month ambulances. They are year round firefighter/paramedics working full time career on fire/rescue/EMS units. No CO detectors in the jump bags! Just on the fire apparatus.

Rescue Capt. - sorry to burst your bubble - but who's to say if you would or wouldn't have checked the room. That statement is baloney - and is based on a one sided news report.

Hindsight is 20/20. In an area where the call volume is extreme, and you run balls to the wall for 24 hours straight - you can't second guess! We can only learn from this, remember - and hope it doesn't happen again!

 

[rescuecpt]

I beg to differ, but since you don't know me and don't ride with me, you have no way of understanding how thorough, anal retentive, and/or paranoid I can be.