Tornado response.

[Doc Kafka]

I realize that this may sound like a rather bizarre question, but I'm just curious as to whether or not anyone else has encountered this.

The area that I work in, was one of the areas stricken by a tornado, in the South, on Super Tuesday.

The first round of storms, complete with a tornado that leveled a neighborhood passed and rescue was underway.

According to the radar, another round of storms was on the way.

EMS and Fire were advised by dispatch that law enforcement would be "taking cover" and would be unavailable for "a while". During this time, EMS is still being dispatched and is responding to calls....several actually.

My question is, at what point do we decide that call response is unsafe?
What are the legal issues?

I realize that the chance of an ambulance being swept away by a tornado is probably miniscule, as I've found no statistics or report on this.

Can any of you shed some light on this?

Thank you.

 

[reaper]

If a warning is issued, You take cover! Your safety is more important then pt care. Your service should have SOP's for this.

You may not find a case of an ambulance being swept away, but it can happen. If you get injured or killed trying to save one pt, you are of no use to the dozens injured from the second storm.

Just remember that a dead EMT or Medic can't save anyone!!

 

[disassociative]

Yeah, I had to work that night as well, bud.

Safety First, that's about it. I am not sure if there are any case studies, etc to back up these policies, if there
are, I am sure Rid & Vent will be able to tell you.

 

[mikie]

So just posing a question...if there is a tornado warning in your area and you are dispatched for EMS or fire or whatnot, how do you decided to respond? Who makes the call? Do you 'wait' until it passes then respond (even if it has been 20 min.)?

Just curious...