This Week in EMS: A Recap for October 20-26, 2007
At least 52 firefighters and about 30 other people have been injured during this week's intense southern California wildfires.
At least 52 firefighters and about 30 other people have been injured during this week's intense southern California wildfires. In addition, at least three people have been killed by flames, while seven others died of causes related to the evacuations.
The three who were burned had all been urged to evacuate. An additional four burned bodies were discovered by Border Patrol agents, but it was not immediately clear whether those deaths were related to the wildfires.
Despite this news, matters appeared to be improving Thursday as calmer winds and cooler temperatures prevailed, and mandatory evacuation orders were lifted for most residential areas of San Diego. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said an evacuation center at Qualcomm Stadium, which had housed as many as 10,000 people, would be closed at noon on Friday.
To read more visit the following articles:
"Advertising with the glib phrase 'Got Narcan? Need a refill?' plastered on the side of its needle exchange vans, the Boston Public Health Commission is stuffing the pockets of Hub junkies with the powerful prescription drug in hopes of countering heroin overdoses," reports the Boston Herald.
The Public Health Commission reports that since it began distributing Narcan a year ago, the drug has saved 50 addicts from overdoses, and keeps addicts returning to the city for services and counseling.
However, EMS union officials argue that giving addicts the overdose remedy is a "stupid'' practice that encourages uninhibited drug use, and that unsupervised usage could endanger lives.
For more on this debate read the full article, Boston EMTS: Overdose Rx a Stupid Fix.
It was reported late last week that three recruits of DC Fire and EMS are being treated for a possible staph outbreak. Department Medical Director Doctor Michael Williams says he has confirmed one case of staph and two likely cases, but he did not know whether this is MRSA, the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
After the first case was reported, the training academy was decontaminated, but after the additional reports the department was considering a second round of cleaning.
Although staph has only recently taken the national spotlight, this is not the first such incidence. Last year at the Prince George's County Police Department in Maryland, nine recruits and three instructors were infected, and the class was given a two week break before it was brought under control.
To read more on the latest staph news visit:
If a dirty bomb goes off in a major downtown area, it could take years to test the thousands of potential victims for radiation exposure, according to a congressional report released Thursday.
The nation would not be able to quickly conduct the necessary tests because we have few capable labs, and the available tests only address six of the 13 radiological isotopes that would likely be used in a dirty bomb, according to the report.
"We are likely headed for a radiological Katrina if terrorists do succeed in detonating a dirty bomb in an American city," said Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., chairman of the subcommittee holding a hearing on the issue.
To read more visit US Short on Labs for Radiation Testing.
EMSResponder.com Featured Column
"They say in most basic writing and English classes, never open a letter, essay or column with the words 'I'm sorry,'" writes author Norm Rooker. "However, apologies for the long delay between August's Book Corner Column and this one. I experienced a bit of a medical 'speed bump' in late August that put my writing, among other things, on the back burner.
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