This Week in EMS: A Recap for July 7 - July 13, 2007

Two off-duty EMTs were in the right places at the right times this week to assist in major emergency responses.

In New York on Saturday, a helicopter with pontoons crashed into the Hudson River about 50 yards north of the Lincoln Tunnel. Eight people, including the pilot, were onboard.

Among those passengers was an FDNY EMT who helped evacuate the passengers from the smoking aircraft. They all donned lifejackets and got into the water, where they waited for just a few minutes before being rescued by nearby vessels.

The EMT, Jose Mejia, 21, said he was terrified when he realized something was wrong with the helicopter. "I thought I was going to die; that was definitely my initial reaction," he said.

To read more, visit: EMT Onboard When NYC Tour Copter Plunges into River.

Also this week, a firefighter/paramedic found himself right on scene when a plane crashed in his Sanford, Florida neighborhood, resulting in five deaths and leaving three seriously injured.

Lake Mary firefighter/paramedic Ryan Cooper, 30, was coming home from his duty shift when he saw the Cessna strike two homes and set them on fire. He immediately went into one house - without any protective equipment - and rescued a father and son. He then worked with rescuers to stabilize the burn victims until he collapsed, and was treated for smoke inhalation and other minor injuries.

Cooper is being hailed as a hero by his colleagues, and certainly is. However, it is situations like these that confuse the issue of "scene safety" for responders. When is it ok to ignore the first rule of emergency response -- making sure that you will not become another victim? When it fails, it is considered a tragic lesson learned, but when it works, it is held up as an example. Such actions are understandable when the emergency is somehow personal, but where do you draw the line? To comment, please visit our forums. For more on this incident, visit Off-Duty Rescuer Pulls Victims from FL Plane Crash Site.

In one of the most read stories this week on EMSResponder.com, another emergency resulted in Pennsylvania when a wrecking ball broke loose from a crane cable at Allegheny College and raced downhill, smashing into cars and injuring three people before coming to rest in the trunk of a car at an intersection, where it caused a chain reaction accident.

Read more at Pennsylvania Wrecking Ball Snaps Loose, Wreaks Havoc.

A major mistake in EMS was in the news this week after jurors in New York heard about the death of a patient after FDNY medics allegedly used outdated batteries for a defibrillator.

According the lawyer for the woman's family, when the EMTs tried to restart her heart, the machine only displayed the words "service mandatory." They tried the backup battery, but it didn't work either. There have reportedly been 36 other occasions when defibrillators didn't work because of batteries past their expiration dates.

For the full story visit FDNY Medics' Use of Defibrillator Batteries Questioned.

Also this week, another death was reported in the EMS community. Norton, Virginia Rescue Squad Paramedic Jerome Crawford Marion collapsed less than 24 hours after responding to a tractor trailer incident on July 2. He is survived by his wife and three children.

To read more visit Virginia Paramedic Collapses after Responding.

In an EMS story with a happy ending, Chicago paramedics Mike Nowacki and Julie Staatz were initially stumped before managing to save the life of an unexpected patient: Champ, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection K-9 officer. Neither knew quite what to do when the dog's handler rushed him to their rescue station.

"This was an unusual and unorthodox circumstance, and they kept cool heads," Assistant Deputy Chief Paramedic Jodi Warrick said.

Read about the rescuers' actions to save Champ in Paramedics Become Heroes of K-9's Tale.