Bad explosion the other night!!

[Medic2588]

By training hospital personnel in hazmat response I have heard time and time again "They will be decontaminated in the field." It seems like an idiotic statement yes, but hospitals are not hazmat experts. They assume hazmat teams are hazmat experts because hazmat teams should be hazmat experts. So the contamination spreading from the field to the ambulance to the hospital is a very likely scenario and one that happens time and time again. We have to be the ones to contain the problem to the field. We can't assume that everyone else will do things appropriately. Even if everyone else do things appropriately, the ambulance is still contaminated. The crew are contaminated and out of service, and hopefully not injured. The ambulance is out of service, and from the original post is sounds like an area that could not afford to temporarily lose an ambulance.

Devin

[Just Plain Ruff]

I'd hate to have to explain the fact that I didn't decon a patient to a lawyer and my bosses just because the patient was too critical and it caused the loss of some significant equipment helicopter, ambulance, ER rooms, Supplies and eqipment in the ER rooms and a complete remodel of the ER to replace the contaminated fixtures.

I say do you do Payroll deduction?

[AnatomyChick]

ER

Season 4

Episode : Exodus

While it "IS" a drama, there's some good learnin' there!

[divinewind_007]

ok..patient 1 is going to live..however hes going to be in the hospital for several months...patient 2 is still critical. they are not expecting him to live. i didnt mean to start a riot on here. and heres the thing...like i stated the meth lab wasnt suspected until the next day by the cops. The immeadite first resonders(fire men) didnt suspect meth. the men reeked of the smell of diesel and they brought them up from the cabin. We never saw the cabin, the only info we had was what we were told from the patients and fireman., and the initial cops on scene. At the time of our arrival the scene was declared safe. one of the fireman there is also one of the volunteers on the hasmat team. you guyz on this scene might have seen it differently, however this is how we inital perceived the scene. however nextday we were notified they were investigating as a meth lab.

[Dustdevil]

Some might say that any patient reeking of chemicals is hot until proven otherwise. Can't say I necessarily disagree with that policy.

Hell, I've heard of medics refusing to work on MVA victims just because they had air-bag talcum on them.

[Richard B the EMT]

It is an unfortunate thing that some crews are never told that they had been exposed to something hazardous until the next day, either chemical or contagion.

Similar lines: A hospital put up a new wing, and was using chemical sealants. Someone from the work crew walked by the ER, saw the patients, ER crew, and some ambulance teams with them, and damn near had a CVA on the spot. He ordered everyone out, and when the hospital administrators came over, realized everyone was at risk from fumes, they closed the ER for 24 hours, moved the ER people to a designated safe area until they cleared out the case load, then reopened in the designated safe area for a week.