There was a scary moment on 85th Street this afternoon, when a woman suddenly collapsed and fell to the sidewalk. The first few seconds and minutes in such an occassion is so crucial to the person's health -- and as bystanders tried to assist, 911 was called.
My wife was one of the bystanders trying to help -- coincidentally, she had just walked out of a CPR Class, taken at our Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Luckily, in this instance, CPR wasn't needed. However, whoever called 911 was apparently told it would be a while before an ambulance would reach the scene. One of the other bystanders called the FDNY -- and within a few minutes Engine 293 was on the scene --
It was amazing how fast they got there -- and they took charge of the situation immediately, moving the fallen person into the shade. Remember, our FDNY are certified First Responders --
In this instance, Engine 293 managed to get the woman talking a bit -- they spoke to the relatives and gathered medical information -- in other words, in the absence of an ambulance, they were taking care of her.
An ambulance from Jamaica Hospital arrived a few minutes later and got the woman on a stretcher and inside of the ambulance. It appears that today's heat was partically responsible for her condition.
We need to keep instances like this in mind whenever there are talks about closing one of our local firehouses -- such as when they came to close Engine 294 a few months ago.
Our Fire Departments aren't only there for putting out fires -- they are there for us to handle all kinds of emergencies. Today was a perfect example of how they serve our community on a daily basis -- and keep us safe. Thank you, FDNY and Engine 293.
Recent Comments