Good thing Boston has more than one paramedic unit: Boston EMS Incidents reports that when a report of a person suffering a heart attack in the Prudential Center food court came in around 10:30 p.m., the Paramedic 1 unit stationed on Purchase Street was dispatched to the scene - but couldn't even get out of its bay due to the large traffic jam caused by protesters in Dewey Square and police blocking traffic to keep motorists from plowing into the protesters.
Dispatchers then routed Paramedic 2, based on Warren Street in Roxbury, to the mall, where firefighters and EMTs were treating the unconscious but still breathing person until the paramedics could arrive.
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Comments
Embarrassing Boston
By mikka
Thu, 12/04/2014 - 11:56pm
Protesters with "I can't breathe "signs blocks EMS from caring for heart attack victim. Pathetic.
Ironic, not pathetic.
By Kate
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 12:10am
Ironic, not pathetic.
Irresponsible is more like it, imho!
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 8:12am
When protestors act so irresponsibly, they should be made to pay for it in some way or other, either by being arrested, or being made to do community service to pay restitution to the family of a heart attack or stroke victim, for example, who failed to reach the hospital in time due to being so irresponsible. Like, paying for the funeareal and/burial or crematorial fees to the bereaved family or families, for example.
The protestors are more than old enough to realize that, with the exercising of one's First Amendment Rights comes a responsibility, and the protestors did not live up to that responsibility, as far as I'm concerned. I stand by what I've said.
So, you'd hold accountable
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 11:15am
So, you'd hold accountable for blocking traffic the people protesting the police who are systematically not held accountable for killing people? Now THAT is irony!
Yes, the protestors ARE to be held accountable.
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 11:56am
Suppose the EMT's hadn't been able to get to the heart attack victim in time, and the person had died?
You still think the protestors wouldn't/shouldn't have been held accountable? I disagree with you here, anon. One of these days, somebody will lose their life as a consequence of such actions and behaviors on the part of protestors, and then it'll be too late.
The protestors remind me of those idiots down in Southie who were/are so insistent on double/triple parking on their streets that they caused a young girl to die in a house fire because the fire truck wasn't able to get there in time.
MassDOT, Verizon, and NStar
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 2:48pm
MassDOT, Verizon, and NStar block more roads on a daily basis than these protests do, and they do it almost 365 days a year. Do you complain about them blocking emergency vehicles? Of course not, because we live in a first world nation with a robust emergency response system that's capable of working around road closures. Even last night when someone had a heart attack at the Pru, one ambulance was blocked, so what happened? Our robust first world system dispatched another ambulance, it arrived on the scene quickly, and no one died. Seriously, this complaint is nonsensical. It's 100% a red herring.
Seriously?
By whyaduck
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 3:55pm
You do understand that the second ambulance came from a father distance than the first, which means that the guy having the heart attack has to wait longer for paramedic assistance? And you do realize that this could mean life and death for that person?
As I said in a previous post, I am in agreement with the protesters but blocking traffic can equal death for someone in distress.
The person was already being helped by EMTs, which was good, but I see no reason why protesters need to block traffic to make a point.
What's stupid is holding
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 4:06pm
What's stupid is holding protesters to a higher standard than you'd hold someone else. If no one is allowed to block streets because it might be a public health risk, then let's not allow anyone to block the streets. You're with me here, right?
Absolutely
By perruptor
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 4:57pm
When [whoever the current President is] comes to town, no blocking traffic for their motorcade. Marathon? Let them run with the cars. World Series victory parade? Nope. Funerals? No.
Things like the annual Boston Marathon, as well as parades, etc.
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 5:26pm
are handled by the city and the police cordoning off certain streets to motor vehicular traffic and re-routing the traffic around that particular cordoned-off route for marathons, festivals, etc. It's not the same thing, at all.
You do realize, I hope ...
By adamg
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 5:28pm
That you don't have to respond to every single last comment with the same exact comment about traffic, right?
More to the point,
By mplo
Sat, 12/06/2014 - 8:11am
EMT's and firefighters, unlike paramedics, are not qualified to administer the necessary on-the-spot, more advanced care that a person who's suddenly stricken with a heart attack, a stroke, or other life-threatening injury or illness while on the street or in a public venue needs.
I do also agree that protestors have no business blocking traffic and shutting down subway stations, etc., to make their point, either.
Come on now...the cars don't usually take up the whole street.
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 5:19pm
Come on now! The NSTAR, MASSDot and Verizon trucks don't generally take up the entire street, and at least people are able to get around them, which generally causes minor tie-ups in traffic that last just afew minutes at the most. They, too often deal with emergencies, and they generally park further to the side of the streets, rather than in the middle of the street.
Come on now...the cars don't usually take up the whole street.
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 5:19pm
Come on now! The NSTAR, MASSDot and Verizon trucks don't generally take up the entire street, and at least people are able to get around them, which generally causes minor tie-ups in traffic that last just afew minutes at the most. They, too often deal with emergencies, and they generally park further to the side of the streets, rather than in the middle of the street.
No, that is a false
By PTB
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 7:15pm
No, that is a false equivalency.
Or appropriate
By Nick
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 1:10am
Some would say this is quite appropriate because they are spreading the costs of injustice against a particular group to society as a whole. Some would say this. Not me. Not here. That discussion is wayyyyy to deep for this forum. An academically intriguing thought though.
So let me get this straight,
By Josh Smith
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 8:41am
So let me get this straight, these disgusting, pathetic nuts were "protesting" the injustice of what happened in NYC and it's a good thing that someone almost died (they didn't die right?) just to drive home and reinforce the very point their protesting against? That is beyond disgusting and I feel sorry for the people who believe that, because your sick.
Seriously...
By MatthewC
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 9:50am
...shut up. I mean that sincerely. You think you're an intellectual but you're really just a silly, wanna-be radical jack ass. You would not be saying such things if it was you or a loved one who suffered a heart attack and EMTs couldn't get to you/them. So again...shut up. Thanks.
Perhaps you should not write until you read
By perruptor
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 10:24am
I think you missed this part of the original post:
EMTs did get to the man, and were treating him. So maybe you should .... what's that pithy phrase? ....
Sorry you wasted your time...
By MatthewC
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 10:35am
I was responding to someone who implied that EMTs being blocked from responding to a heart attack victim was a good thing. I never said that the EMTs never got to the victim. So go ahead and take your own advice. That is all.
Wrong again, perruptor!
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 11:15am
The point is, perruptor, that the patient could've died. When people cause a traffic jam that impedes the ability of EMT;s to get to a heart attack patient right away, that's gambling with an innocent person's life, any which way one looks at it.
I guess we shouldn't drive home
By GoSoxGo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 1:25pm
after work. You know, rush hour and all. An ambulance might be trying to get somewhere on an emergency call.
It's PATHETIC that people
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 2:11pm
It's PATHETIC that people drive home from work. Don't these losers know they could be blocking an EMT?! WHY DON"T THEY GET A JOB!?!
/severeyeroll
So I'm a paramedic and I can
By joeschmoe
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 10:16pm
So I'm a paramedic and I can tell you that there is a saying when someone is having a heart attack that goes like this "time is muscle." The longer it takes to get to a cath lab (not a trauma center, which I've seen people on here say), the more cardiac muscle dies, which is generally irreperable damage. Even though an ambulance did get there, it took longer than it would have taken the other ambulance to get there unimpeded, therefore delaying the patients care and increasing the likelihood of more cardiac damage. And even if the man did live, his heart may never function to the same capacity again based on the amount of damage done, which can now lead to other health issues. Just remember that if it's you or a loved one having a medical emergency, especially something as time sensitive as a heart attack or a stroke, and the potential life saving care that you need gets delayed over a group of people deciding to block traffic.
lol you know so much about
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 3:23pm
lol you know so much about this topic huh? So just because the EMTS and firefighters were there you think he was getting the care he needs? What he really needed was earlier advanced life support intervention that could be the difference between beig brain dead for the rest of his life or not. Fuckin brilliant perruptor. What are the EMTS going. To do for him? Ventilate him with a BVM and hope for the best?
lol
By KSquared
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 3:44pm
EMTs can keep him alive until he gets to a trauma center - and good news! There are a bunch of those in Boston!
really
By medic
Thu, 12/25/2014 - 5:39pm
Here's my idea...
First none of this would an issue if the guy would have just done what was asked. I know that there are bad people in every profession. I am a medic and God knows there are many that suck to say the least. With that being said, there are plenty of good medics but there are NO GOOD CRIMINALS! Just do what you are asked to do!!!!! If they say freeze, then freeze! Don't move! Instead we try to be a person that wants to be tough and guess what? Police will revert to their training! Is is the right thing! Maybe not but that is not the issue!
As far as the question. what can EMS do? Meds, O2, Transport to a facility because he will die unless he is seen elsewhere. The question that I will ask you is can you do any more than I can? I doubt it and I commend the EMTs and Paramedics, Firefighters and Police officers everyday doing their job. If its your job to steal and take from others or break the law, then maybe you should get a job because we are going to do ours!
Just do what is asked and this wouldn't be an issue....This isn't about race either. There are black officers killing white people as well its not made public by media.
Here's a link...
http://www.youngcons.com/unarmed-white-man-was-kil...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/27/wh...
Other things that where
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 8:15am
Other things that where "Pathetic":
The March on Washington
The Selma to Montgomery March
Blocking innocent children from eating at a Woolworth's lunch counter "unmolested" by protesters
The 1913 Women's Suffrage March
Democracy in general
Oh, come off the crap, anon!
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 12:58pm
The March on Washington, the Selma to Montgomery March and the Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in were not the same thing. They were a watershed of America's history, and the protestors in those above-mentioned marches weren't blocking access to hospitals, blocking traffic, or causing traffic jams that impeded the ability of EMT's or other medical people to respond to life-or death matters. That being said, one can't compare the above-mentioned marches to the protests that're going on right now.
Sez you!
By adamg
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 1:49pm
You often can't tell a watershed event until well after it happens.
And while we can't really compare ambulances then and now, because today's ambulances and EMS crews are far, far more advanced than the stretcher Caddies of yore, you really think a crowd the size of the one on the Mall the day of King's speech would have NO impact on traffic? You have another think coming, IMHO
The medical emergency took
By lsewriter
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 2:30pm
The medical emergency took place in the Pru. Right across the street is a fire station staffed with EMTs & emergency equipment. So why was this such a big problem??
Because paramedics can
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 3:26pm
Because paramedics can provide more advanced care to increase his chance of survival as opposed to emt basics. That is why. People don't seem to understand that. Just because there were firefighters and EMTS doesn't mean he had the best care possible at the time.
Actually
By Kaz
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 4:35pm
Actually, that's exactly what that means, because paramedics who might provide better care weren't possible at that time (traffic was too heavy for them to arrive).
You might as well blame his friend who was with him for not being a cardiac surgeon for preventing him from having the best possible care at the time.
Frightening innocent children
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 12:41am
Frightening innocent children at a Holiday event and blocking essential traffic. What a great way to get your point across. You are a bunch of bullies. I bet half of them do not even know why they are protesting.
Poor poor children
By zetag
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 9:00am
Bullies, ha. Sorry your kids had to find out the world isn't all sunshine and roses and that this country has a very large problem with police officers abusing their authority and getting away with it.
You should really be blaming the grand jury for announcing their injustice the night before the Christmas tree lighting. How could they not think of the children.
To the person who wrote this
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 2:58pm
To the person who wrote this comment and the 30 people who gave it a thumbs up.... It is not up to you to teach other people's children life lessons at a Holiday event. Let them see Santa and a tree lighting in PEACE.....isn't that what you are preaching anyway?
Bubbleboy
By zetag
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 3:42pm
If you don't want your children exposed to the real world then don't take them out of the house. This is a real life issue, not something that was made up just to interrupt the tree lighting. The tree lighting complainers here are so self absorbed it's sickening.
If I were a parent of children
By roadman
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 7:29pm
of an age to whom seeing a tree lighting and Santa was a big part of their year, I would prefer that they learn about real world issues at an appropriate time and age (hopefully one of my choosing) instead having said issues forced upon them by a bunch of self-absorbed protestors who feel the need to intentionally disrupt a public event and block streets and transit service.
Yes Poor Poor Children Zetag
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 3:09pm
Blame the grand jury? Seriously? Grow up and leave innocent children out of your battle. They came to see Santa and a tree. There is no reason they should be scared in any way at City of Boston Holiday event. If you think otherwise you may need some medical help.
If you think the blame the
By zetag
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 3:44pm
If you think the blame the grand jury's timing comment was serious then you should probably just call it a day and get off the internet.
Some of our children
By eekanotloggedin
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 10:00am
live every day frightened that they could be shot walking home from the store with Skittles.
"little children"
By lsewriter
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 2:27pm
They know why they're protesting, and so do you.
Frightening little children? For decent parents, it's a teaching moment: "Sometimes things go wrong in our country, and when they do, people have the right to get together in public."
Frightening little children? I'll bet little children were sure frightened when they saw a 12-year-old shot to death by a Cleveland cop.
Frightening little children? Have you even seen the video games that are pandered to children? If they learn that life is not a video game, that's not a bad thing.
I hope you feel good that you
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 3:44pm
I hope you feel good that you made children cry. Tough guy/girl.....
http://www.wcvb.com/news/boston-mayor-walsh-slams-...
Could be worse
By zetag
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 3:58pm
These kids could be dead instead of just crying, cops get away with killing children too you know
OR
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 4:03pm
Or they could be enjoying a night night out with their family.........nah, let's show them the real world by screaming, yelling, pushing ,shoving, laying down in the street blocking traffic instead. Merry Christmas! May God Bless you. You need it.
Interesting you bring God
By zetag
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 4:34pm
Interesting you bring God into this. I'd be delighted to know what the birth of Jesus has to do with fireworks, football cheerleaders, and an illuminated tree.
Ummmm where did I say that
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 5:40pm
Ummmm where did I say that God was related to the things you mentioned? Oh wait, I didn't. I merely ended my comment saying Merry Christmas and God Bless you. Shouldn't you be out yelling in little kids faces ,pushing toddlers around and blocking traffic somewhere?
If your kid was emotionally
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 4:35pm
If your kid was emotionally scared by the protest then your kid has larger issues than seeing a protest.
Please print out these
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 5:27pm
Please print out these comments and save them. When you have children of your own one day you will see things different. Bring your rain jacket tonight.
If your kid was emotionally
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 5:31pm
If your kid was emotionally scared by the protest then your kid has larger issues than seeing a protest.
Why? Explain.
I didn't say emotionally scarred. I said kids were afraid.
In that case let me scream in
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 5:53pm
In that case let me scream in your kids face for an hour. Of course little kids get scared. Some are too little to understand what is going on.
Wow
By perruptor
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 7:21pm
That's not just a straw man; that's a straw giant! Those protesters should definitely stop screaming in the faces of little children! And stop beating their wives while they're at it!
No ambulances available at nearby hospitals?
By Ron Newman
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 12:48am
I'm surprised one could not be dispatched from Boston Medical Center or Tufts Medical Center (both quite nearby) or from Brigham & Women's or Beth Israel (a bit further away down Huntington Ave)
Ambulances are NOT posted at Hospitals
By Toneye
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 6:12am
Ambulances work out of a 'satellite' station. They are not owned or work out of Hospitals, with the exception of maybe of the Beth Israel where the City rents a garage for 2 of it's ambulances.
Each Ambulance has a 'response' area. When a call comes in for their 'response' area they are dispatch to that call. If there is a closer unit, that ambulance is sent. If that ambulance is having egress issues like last night on Purchase street the next closest is sent.
This scenario last night delayed an Ambulance response to an unconscious person. Period. How ironic.
Boston EMS runs a 2 tiered system. EMT truck and PARAMEDIC truck. One set has advanced training for more serious calls.
People call ambulances for everything from a toothache to a cardiac arrest, a fever to a shooting. Some calls require advanced medical care which includes,
but is not limited to, an IV line and drugs. EMT's don't perform those treatments. If a unit is busy in their response area, the next closest unit is sent.
The City has 3 first responder departments:
Boston Police-911
Boston Emergency Medical Services-911
Boston Fire-911
I'd also like to make note that they are not:
AMBULANCE 'DRIVERS'.
Some one finally got it!,
By ED RN
Sat, 12/06/2014 - 12:06am
Exactly! This exactly what everyone is failing to see. The EMTs that were treating the patient did the best they could with the skills and the equipment they have. If the medics were delayed for whatever reason, that is time the patient is not receiving the care he REQUIRES. Just because he is receiving some care, doesn't mean he is getting what he actually NEEDS. This patient needed advanced life support and was delayed in receiving that care..... Period. That's is not ok.
I have worked in all kinds or ERs. Small community hospitals and large urban trauma centers and the one thing they all have in common is the medics and EMTs. Those very skilled and very talented people show up to a scene and get the patients to us alive so we can try to fix them. They do their jobs in 100 degree heat, in blizzards and tornados. They are threatened and often assaulted and are mistakenly referred to as ambulance drivers... THEY ARE NOT.
I would like to know how any one of these people who are commenting would feel if it were them lying in the ground, and it was their care was compromised?
The hospitals do not have
By BJH
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 7:28am
The hospitals do not have ambulances. Boston EMS is the city's ambulance company while other companies like Action, Lyons, American, etc are individual companies. They are at hospitals only to transport and give reports on incoming patients.
Seeing as how none of those
By joeschmoe
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 9:54am
Seeing as how none of those hospitals house any ambulances, that wouldn't be possible.
Dispatch from Purchase St.
By Mark Jaquith
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 1:28am
Dispatch from Purchase St. when roads were messed up there? Emergency management SNAFUP! BMC, BCH, Med area?
Really
By perruptor
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 7:06am
Ambulance dispatchers are in touch with the PD, aren't they? Why didn't they know that their ambulance at the Pru was going to have this problem if a call came, and move it out of the affected area?
No! The protestors should be made to move out of the way!
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 7:51am
Wrong, perruptor! The protestors should've either been given the choice of moving the hell out of the way or being subject to arrest. If the protestors still refuse to move out of the way of the ambulance responding to and trying to get through to the heart attack victim, the protestors should be arrested...every one of them.
Here's another thing: the protestors are doing far more harm than good to their cause, and they should know it!
It wasn't the protesters blocking the paramedics
By adamg
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 9:08am
Let's keep this straight: There was no blockade of the paramedic station last night. Protesters were a couple blocks away, in Dewey Square.
Police blocked roads in the area partly to prevent those protesters from having something to blockade (really), but mainly to keep them getting turned into road pizza by crazed motorists, as happened in St. Louis and New York.
Yes, the net effect is the same: The ambulance was trapped in its bay. But let's not impute a horrible motive to people who didn't have it (and as with the BMC "code black" the other night, let's also remember that Boston is blessed with a redundant health-care system and a paramedic team did get to the Pru, just not the one originally assigned there).
A larger point
By issacg
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 9:30am
Adam highlights that our little outpost on the North Atlantic is blessed with many things, and truly it is.
I see a larger point in all of this though. There are reasons why we don't have many of the problems that many other cities in our country have, or, do not have them to anywhere near the degree that other cities have them. And in my opinion, those reasons have a lot to do with how we collectively view what it means to be a civilized society in general, and the role of government in a civilized society in particular. Of course it wasn't always this way, but our shared experiences with some alternatives have informed what I think is a fairly broad-based consensus nowadays (notwithstanding what the msm outlets intent on polarization try to tell us). I am not suggesting that there aren't lots of people far out on either flank, but I really do believe that there is considerable consensus on fundamental issues across a broad swath of the Commonwealth's citizenry.
BMC "code black" ?
By Ron Newman
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 10:47am
I don't know what this refers to.
Code black = shutdown
By KSquared
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 10:50am
Usually refers to some problem that limits the hospital's ability to accept new patients, in this case, lots of protesters.
Okay, but the protestors DID cause a traffic jam that
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 11:19am
impeded the EMTs' ability to get to the heart attack victim immediately, and that's quite harmful in it's own way. Even if the victim of such a life-or-death matter doesn't lose his/her life as a result of such stupidity on the part of the protestors, time is still of the essence in the event of a heart attack or a stroke, and any delay, no matter what the cause can be and is dangerous, because it could cause the loss of a life, OR, the victim could suffer permanent damage from which s/he would never recover. That, imho, is sufficient enough for people to have the sense not to cause such a traffic jam, no matter what their cause may be.
Difference between EMTs and paramedics
By adamg
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 11:50am
EMTs (and firefighters, who are trained in basic first-responder care) DID get to the person right away. At issue is whether the paramedics, who can insert IVs and breathing tubes and the like, were delayed in getting to him or her. That's not necessarily the case: Again, because Boston has more than one paramedic unit, the system can route around trouble, and another unit did get to the Pru.
Actually, the police
By roadman
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 11:20am
blocked roads in direct response to the protesters' actions. So it is correct and proper to put this on the protesters themselves, regardless of whether or nor it was their intent to impede the movement of emergency vehicles.
If we're going down this path...
By peter
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 11:42am
The protests were a direct response to Pantaleo killing Garner. So maybe it is correct and proper to put this on Pantaleo? Or would it make more sense to put the blame on Garner, for having the audacity to die under such gentle treatment.
Every time an ambulance is delayed by Red Sox game traffic, or a holiday parade, do we put the blame on the Sox? on the fans? If we don't condemn them for screwing up traffic to cheer on a sportsball game, or celebrate St Patrick's day, it doesn't seem fair to condemn the protesters.
I have to disagree with you, peter.
By mplo
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 12:06pm
At least with ball games and other events, the police often handle things better by forcing people to move over for ambulances and other emergency vehicles. The protestors insisted on blocking access to hospitals and they caused a traffic jam that impeded the EMT's ability to respond to a heart attack, which is a life or death matter. It IS fair, imho, to condemn the protestors.
If I decide I need to get
By anon
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 12:14pm
If I decide I need to get naked in public because the Patriots win, it's my fault when I get arrested, not Tom Brady's.
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