Ambulance Crews Close to Colorado Shooting Delayed in Being Dispatched

[News]

Nearby Cunningham crew sat idle for more than 10 minutes.

In this July 20, 2012 file photo, an Aurora Police officer talks on his radio outside the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, Colo., at the scene of a mass shooting. It wasn't until more than 20 minutes into the crisis that dispatchers called on the two-person team, but they didn’t arrive until more than half an hour after authorities first got word of the shooting. That episode was one of the most glaring examples of ambulance delays that may have cost crucial minutes in the chaotic response to a massacre that ultimately left 12 people dead and dozens wounded. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

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[DFIB]

Twenty minutes suffering with an high caliber gun shot wound is an eternity. I am not sure what could have been done differently but an "all available units converge call" might have helped.

The witnesses talk about ex military and bystanders as the persons that helped them get through their injuries.

Edited July 27, 2012 by DFIB

[Just Plain Ruff]

ok, let's ask this question. When were the first EMS crews allowed in the scene? How many minutes from when the call came in to when the scene was deemed clear for EMS To enter????

was it 5 minutes? was it 10 minutes?

Let's remember before we pass any judgement here that this was a mass cassualty scene and we had a shooter or shooters. I'd like to know just how many minutes it took for law enforcement to allow EMS to enter the building.

[ERDoc]

There was story about this on CNN. Responders were saying that they were having trouble getting to the theater because the people coming out were like trying to fight a moving river and all of the wounded that were coming out were stopping the EMS units to get help. Hard situation to deal with all around, especially when you have a scene that has very small, limited access in and out. Most theaters have 3-4 doors.

[akflightmedic]

I have already read several survivor stories and it does sound like chaos in the sense that first in units were being loaded and sent to ER with victims. Even had a unit stop, drive back shift the patient from gurney to the bench seat and add more people.

[Eydawn]

Active shooter scene? 10 minutes before being dispatched? 30 minutes after report of scene, they were in to transport? Not the primary agency for the area of response?

Excuse me, but what's the problem here?

Not everyone operates on the same frequencies... it took dispatch pulling together and realizing they needed multiagency EMS all hands available. Not to say that process couldn't have been sped up a bit, but knowing Aurora as I do, I'm not surprised and I actually don't see that it was a great failing... sounds like dispatch had a hell of a time and not all dispatchers were talking to each other.

The after-action analysis always shows places where you could have done better. The politics in Aurora with regard to EMS service is incredibly messed up. I think they did a killer job despite the fustercluck.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

RN-ADN Student

[Richard B the EMT]

As stated in another string, I'm awaiting a full After Action report on PD, FD, and EMS fronts before I form a real, stateable position.