EMERGENCY

DISPATCHES

Broadcasts about these fire and ambulance calls were monitored this past week by the newspaper:

MAY 2

2:55 a.m. — An 88-year-old woman suffering cold sweats and having trouble breathing at Salem Home in Hillsboro was taken to Hillsboro Community Hospital by Hillsboro ambulance.

6:15 a.m. — What appeared to be the same patient was transferred by Hillsboro ambulance from HCH to Kansas Heart Hospital, Wichita. The ambulance departed for Wichita at 7:57 a.m. and returned to Hillsboro at 9:58 a.m.

7:04 a.m. — A fire alarm at Westview Manor in Peabody was determined by Peabody firefighters to be a false alarm.

12:26 p.m. — One of two people reportedly injured in a two-vehicle accident at US-50 and Nighthawk Rd. was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance. A lone emergency medical technician aboard Peabody ambulance and the county’s ambulance director also responded. Peabody firefighters briefly were at the accident, as well. Marion ambulance was dispatched, too, but that call was canceled before the ambulance arrived.

1:03 p.m. — A welder and grass on fire in a field along US-77 south of 290th Rd. were extinguished within half an hour by Lincolnville firefighters.

2:28 p.m. — A tractor on fire in a field south of 240th and Kanza Rds. was extinguished within half an hour by Hillsboro firefighters. They remained for an additional half-hour to tend to a separate grass fire nearby.

2:34 p.m. — A 82-year-old woman who fell at Bethesda Home in Goessel was taken by Hillsboro ambulance to NMC Health, formerly Newton Medical Center. Goessel first responders were paged but did not answer.

2:43 p.m. — With Hillsboro ambulance still en route to Goessel, Marion ambulance was dispatched to the 600 block of S. Ash St. in Hillsboro for a 57-year-old woman having abdominal pain after recent surgery. She was taken to HCH. A Hillsboro firefighter was told a first responder was not needed.

5:25 p.m. — What appeared to be the same patient was transferred by Hillsboro ambulance from HCH to McPherson Center for Health. The ambulance returned to Hillsboro at 7:15 p.m.

MAY 3

9:19 a.m. — A 62-year-old trucker was taken by Marion ambulance to Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital in Wichita after his truck rolled onto its side and spilled its load of rock at the US-56/77/K-150 roundabout northeast of Marion. Marion firefighters were dispatched because of initial reports that the trucker was trapped inside his burning rig. Upon arrival, however, the county ambulance director reported no fire, no entrapment, and no hazardous cargo. The truck was, however, leaking oil or fuel.

11:51 a.m. — With Marion ambulance just getting back in the county on its way from Wichita, Hillsboro ambulance was sent to St. Luke Hospital, Marion, to transfer a trauma patient to Wesley Medical Center, Wichita.

3:04 p.m. — A 78-year-old woman having trouble walking in a parking lot at Oakwood Manor Apartments in Hillsboro declined to be taken to a hospital by Hillsboro ambulance. Marion ambulance and Hillsboro first responders initially were paged, but Hillsboro ambulance returned from Wichita in time to call of Marion ambulance and handle the call. First responders helped lift the patient.

7:27 p.m. — What appeared to be the same patient, suffering increasing pain from neuropathy, was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance.

9:30 p.m. — A 73-year-old woman who fell at a home in the 1400 block of Denver St. in Marion was helped up by Marion ambulance attendants. She declined to be taken to a hospital.

THURSDAY

10:24 a.m. — A one-acre grass fire south of 120th and Falcon Rds. was extinguished within half an hour by Goessel firefighters.

FRIDAY

7:58 p.m. — A 20-year-old woman who fainted and may have suffered a seizure at the Tabor College football field in Hillsboro was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance. Marion ambulance and a Hillsboro first responder initially responded, too, but were told they weren’t needed.

8:32 p.m. — With Hillsboro ambulance not yet finished with its call to Tabor, Marion ambulance was dispatched for a 57-year-old woman unable to get out of a chair at Oakwood Manor Apartments in Hillsboro. She declined to be taken to a hospital.

10:24 p.m. — An unresponsive 56-year-old man not breathing properly, possibly bleeding, and possibly under the influence of illegal substances at Marion Reservoir’s Hillsboro Cove, was evaluated as being in life-threatening condition and rushed on an emergency basis to Wesley by Hillsboro ambulance. An extra paramedic from Marion ambulance assisted during the trip. After dropping the extra medic off in Marion, Hillsboro ambulance returned to Hillsboro at 1:43 a.m. Two people were treated and released at St. luke. On Sunday, park rangers and a sheriff’s deputy returned to the campsite to inform campers there that they did not have a reservation and had to leave.

SATURDAY

5:47 a.m. — An 82-year-old woman who fell at a residence on Strassburg Dr. at Eastshore declined to be taken to a hospital by Marion ambulance.

9:42 a.m. — A 20-year-old man who suffered a fractured ankle and a bleeding head wound and was found lying in a ditch after a collision between a motorcycle and a sport utility vehicle at 20th and Timber Rds. was taken by an EagleMed helicopter to an unspecified Wichita hospital. Hillsboro and Peabody ambulances and Peabody firefighters initially were dispatched, and the county ambulance director chose to respond. Marion ambulance opted to respond instead of Hillsboro ambulance, which then replaced Marion ambulance at a SafeKids event at the Sports and Aquatics Center in Marion.

11:26 a.m. — An 81-year-old man, reportedly with low blood sugar in an alley behind a rental home in the 400 block of E. Santa Fe St. in Marion, was taken to St. Luke by Hillsboro ambulance as it returned from the SafeKids event.

2:54 p.m. — An 81-year-old man was transferred by Marion ambulance from St. Luke to Kansas Heart.

3:12 p.m. — Hillsboro and Peabody ambulances were dispatched for a medical alarm activated by an 82-year-old woman at a residence in the 700 block of N. Peabody St. in Peabody. A lone EMT aboard Peabody ambulance resolved whatever unspecified situation had led to the alarm and canceled the call to Hillsboro ambulance.

3:58 p.m. — Two people screaming for help after falling from a canoe into Marion Reservoir were helped ashore by other boaters. Hillsboro ambulance initially was dispatched to check one of the two for injuries, but the call was canceled by sheriff’s deputies on the scene.

4:42 p.m. — A tree line set ablaze, possibly by a passing Burlington Northern Santa Fe train near Sunflower Rd., was extinguished within 20 minutes by Peabody firefighters. Train traffic was stopped while firefighters completed mop-up operations.

5:19 p.m. — With Marion ambulance still returning from Wichita, Hillsboro ambulance was dispatched to a duplex on Victory Ln. in Marion, where a 64-year-old man may have fallen. Marion firefighters helped lift the patient before the ambulance took him to St. Luke.

5:56 p.m. — En route back from Wichita, Marion ambulance was diverted along with Peabody ambulance to the 700 block of N. Peabody St., where the 82-year-old woman who earlier had received assistance from a lone Peabody EMT now wanted to be taken to a hospital because of pain and swelling after a fall. A more highly trained paramedic from Marion ambulance switched places with a less-trained Peabody EMT while Marion ambulance took the woman to NMC Health. Marion ambulance did not return to Marion until 7:56 p.m. In the meantime, Peabody ambulance relocated to Hillsboro to stand by in case of additional calls.

6 p.m. — With all other ambulances tied up, Tampa ambulance was sent to Canada to stand by in case of any additional calls.

6:51 p.m. — The ambulances standing by did not have long to wait. Tampa and Peabody ambulances both were dispatched to the 100 block of N. Roosevelt St. in Marion, where a man not breathing was receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the instruction of dispatchers. Moments later, Hillsboro ambulance completed its run to St. Luke and responded as well. Two Marion firefighters also responded as did a sheriff’s deputy. The EMTs, medics, and other responders were unable to revive the patient, however. He was pronounced dead at 7:10 p.m. After reuniting with their normal crews, all ambulances were back in their stations by 8:06 p.m.

SUNDAY

2:58 a.m. —Sheriff’s deputies were sent to BNSF railroad tracks in Florence after dispatchers received a report that a train may have struck something, later discovered to be a 21-year-old Newton man who had trespassed on the tracks. He died at the scene. An abandoned vehicle found near the tracks later was towed. Florence firefighters helped clear the tracks. Deputies conferred with a funeral director and the county coroner. The undersheriff came on duty during the investigation, and the sheriff later visited the scene.

3:05 a.m. — A brush pile on fire in the 200 block of S. Olive St. in Peabody was extinguished within 25 minutes by Peabody firefighters.

10:55 a.m. — A 2-year-old accidentally locked in a white GMC Terrain with its air conditioner running at a campsite east of the dam at Marion County Park and Lake was freed by a sheriff’s deputy.

4:49 p.m. — Marion ambulance was summoned without any monitored explanation to the lobby of the sheriff’s office in Marion and remained there for almost an hour.

MONDAY

5:03 a.m. — An 82-year-old woman who fell at a residence in the 400 block of S. Coble St. in Marion declined to be taken to a hospital by Marion ambulance.

12:36 p.m. — A driver was trapped in the cab of a dump truck after the truck’s extended bed became entangled in power lines at a construction site near 190th and Kanza Rds. Hillsboro firefighters and medics were called to monitor the situation until the bed could be lowered away from the line. The driver declined to be taken to a hospital.

8:34 p.m. — A smoke alarm at Tabor College townhouses in Hillsboro was quickly determined by Hillsboro firefighters to have been activated by a cooking accident.

9:14 p.m. — A 14-year-old boy was transferred by Hillsboro ambulance from HCH to Wesley’s trauma emergency room.

9:45 p.m. — With Hillsboro ambulance busy, Marion ambulance was dispatched for an 82-year-old woman on the floor and complaining of back pain after falling at Bethesda Homes in Goessel. Goessel first responders reached the nursing home nine minutes before the ambulance, which eventually took the woman to NMC Health. While Marion and Hillsboro ambulances were busy, Tampa ambulance stood by at Canada until 11:17 p.m. in case of additional calls Marion ambulance was back in its station at 12:05 a.m.