EMERGENCY

DISPATCHES

Broadcasts about these fire and ambulance calls were monitored this past week by the newspaper:

OCT. 11

11:07 a.m. — An 81-year-old woman who fell and hit her head in the 400 block of S. Coble St. in Marion was taken to St. Luke Hospital, Marion, by Marion ambulance.

12:15 p.m. — An oven fire at a residence in the 100 block of E. 7th St. in Florence was extinguished by residents before firefighters from Florence, Peabody, and Marion arrived. Marion ambulance also was dispatched before being told to disregard the call.

1:15 p.m. — A weak 76-year-old woman running a fever at a residence in the 400 block of Briarwood St. in Hillsboro was taken to Hillsboro Community Hospital by Hillsboro ambulance.

3:52 p.m. — A 77-year-old woman with gastrointestinal issues was transferred by Hillsboro ambulance from HCH to NMC Health, Newton. The ambulance returned to Hillsboro at 5:44 p.m.

OCT. 12

8:28 a.m. — A 69-year-old man hit by a vehicle while walking in the 300 block of S. Ash St. in Hillsboro was taken by Hillsboro ambulance to HCH for evaluation. Dispatchers initially failed to provide the location of the accident.

8:35 a.m. — An 81-year-old Pilsen woman with breathing problems and a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was taken to St. Luke by Marion ambulance.

10:01 a.m. — An 81-year-old man who tripped and fell in front of Hillsboro Ford and was bleeding from his nose was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance.

12:36 p.m. — A 24-year-old male surgical patient was transferred by Marion ambulance from St. Luke to NMC. The ambulance returned to the county at 2:26 p.m.

3:09 p.m. — A 52-year-old woman who may have overdosed on medication at a location not broadcast by dispatchers declined to be taken to a hospital by Hillsboro ambulance.

6:19 p.m. — Florence firefighters assisted Chase County firefighters for nearly three hours at a grass fire a mile south of Clements on 145th Ave.

6:57 p.m. — A 67-year-old woman gasping for air and receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation at Homestead Senior Residences, Marion, was taken to St. Luke by Marion ambulance. Hillsboro ambulance also responded to the call.

7:06 p.m. — Burns firefighters were called to assist Chase County firefighters but were told six minutes later to disregard the call.

9:16 p.m. — A parent or guardian declined to allow Hillsboro ambulance to transport a 2-year-old girl having trouble breathing in the 200 block of N. Washington St. in Hillsboro. Marion ambulance also responded to the call. Without explanation, ambulance attendants asked for a law enforcement officer to join them at the residence.

THURSDAY

1:52 a.m. — A countywide power failure until 2:51 a.m. prevented recording of emergency dispatches. However, during that time, Marion ambulance took to St. Luke a Marion resident whose oxygen supply had been cut off by the blackout.

10:12 a.m. — A 68-year-old man with cardiac issues was transferred by Marion ambulance from St. Luke to NMC. The ambulance returned to Marion at 12:23 p.m.

5:27 p.m. — Tampa ambulance stood by until 8:04 p.m. at a Centre football game.

10:10 p.m. — Overheated food on a stove at Oakwood Manor Apartments in Hillsboro resulted in calls for Hillsboro, Marion, and Peabody firefighters and Hillsboro ambulance. A police officer who also responded shut off the stove, and the first Hillsboro firefighter on the scene canceled the call to other departments. Hillsboro firefighters spent about 20 minutes ventilating the apartment.

FRIDAY

12:10 a.m. — A cooking accident was blamed for a smoke alarm that sent Hillsboro firefighters to the Tabor College men’s quad for 20 minutes.

9:28 a.m. — A small grass fire at US-56 and Diamond Rds. was extinguished by the people who reported it before the arrival of Hillsboro firefighters, who spent a few minutes dumping extra water on burned grass. Lehigh firefighters also were paged but did not answer.

2:48 p.m. — Peabody ambulance stood by until 5:45 p.m. during a football game at Peabody City Park.

3:21 p.m. — A four-alarm grass fire south of 170th Rd. rapidly spread from east across US-77 from near Marion County Lake and was battled for 4½ hours by firefighters from at least eight departments, including Marion, Peabody, Hillsboro, Florence, Lincolnville, Goessel, Durham, and Lehigh. Marion ambulance treated at least one firefighter for smoke inhalation.

6:32 p.m. — Marion ambulance stood by until 9:02 p.m. during a football game at Marion Stadium.

6:52 p.m. — Hillsboro ambulance stood by until 8:44 p.m. during a football game at Joel Wiens Stadium.

9:52 p.m. — A medical alarm accidentally was activated by a 99-year-old woman at a farmhouse near 20th and Wagon Wheel Rds. Peabody and Marion ambulances and Burns first responders were told to disregard the call.

SATURDAY

10:12 a.m. — A small contingent of Marion firefighters returned to Friday’s grass fire and spent about an hour attempting to ensure that the fire did not rekindle.

1:15 p.m. — Goessel firefighters worked for 2½ hours to bring back under control an intentional grass and brush fire — unreported despite a red flag warning at the time — west of 70th and Chisholm Trail Rds.

1:23 p.m. — A 96-year-old woman was transferred by Marion ambulance from HCH to NMC. Hillsboro ambulance originally was paged. No response was recorded on the newspaper’s monitoring equipment, and the call was shifted to Marion ambulance, which returned to Marion at 3:35 p.m.

5 p.m. — A 90-year-old man who fell and lay on the floor of a locked residence in the 300 block of N. Cedar St. in Hillsboro for 1½ days until a concerned neighbor spotted him through a window was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance with assistance from Hillsboro police.

5:20 p.m. — A stubble fire near K-168 and US-56 south of Lehigh was extinguished within 15 minutes by Lehigh firefighters.

8:23 p.m. —A report of a fire on the face of the dam at Marion Reservoir was determined after half an hour of fruitless searching by Marion firefighters to be a false alarm.

9:29 p.m. — A smoke alarm at Tabor College townhouses was determined by Hillsboro firefighters to have been another cooking mishap.

9:35 p.m. — Marion ambulance opted to respond instead of Hillsboro ambulance to a call at a Hillsboro location not recorded on newspaper monitoring equipment because of conflicting transmissions. The ambulance transported a patient to Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, returning to Marion at 12:06 a.m.

11:16 p.m. — With Marion and Hillsboro ambulances apparently not available, Peabody ambulance was called to transfer a patient from St. Luke to Dole Veterans Affairs Hospital, Wichita. The ambulance returned to Peabody at 2:03 a.m. then announced that it would be out of service until 4 a.m. Monday.

SUNDAY

12:02 a.m. — With Marion and Peabody ambulances not yet back from Wichita, a seemingly reactivated Hillsboro ambulance was dispatched to the 600 block of N. Walnut St. in Peabody to treat a 36-year-old woman having a bad reaction to what was reported to have been an “edible” she took as a sleep aid.

Fourteen minutes after the initial call, with the ambulance still seven minutes away, dispatchers reported that the woman had stopped breathing. After providing instructions over the telephone in how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation, they summoned Peabody firefighters to assist.

The woman then began seizing but resumed breathing, according to monitored transmissions.

Ambulance attendants asked for police to be sent to the residence. A firefighter later withdrew the request, and the ambulance transported the woman to St. Luke. Once at St. Luke, however, attendants contacted a deputy sheriff, who returned to the address to investigate and then reported to St. Luke to confer with a physician.

The ambulance was back in Hillsboro at 2:08 a.m.

11:58 a.m. — A 67-year-old woman needing a computerized tomography scan while St. Luke’s CT scanner was not working was transferred by Marion ambulance from St. Luke to HCH then back to St. Luke.

1:01 p.m. — As soon as Marion ambulance reached St. Luke, it was dispatched to transfer a second St. Luke patient — an 86-year-old woman with respiratory issues — to NMC.

1:43 p.m. — A 95-year-old woman suspected of having a stroke at Panda Kitchen in Hillsboro was taken to St. Luke by Hillsboro ambulance.

5:49 p.m. — Tampa ambulance stood by until sheriff’s deputies arrived after what was reported as an intoxicated patron from a nearby bar crawled into the back yards of two residences in the 400 block of Main St. in Tampa, began to vomit, and passed out. He was taken to HCH. The ambulance returned to Tampa at 7:41 p.m.

6:11 p.m. — Dispatchers asked Marion ambulance to transfer a 14-year-old girl and a newborn infant from St. Luke to Wesley. The ambulance reported to St. Luke, but attendants informed dispatchers that the ambulance service would be unable to transfer the patients. A needed monitor was not available.

7:11 p.m. — An accidental pulling of a fire alarm at the men’s quad at Tabor College was reset by Hillsboro firefighters.

8:59 p.m. — Dispatchers telephoned Marion ambulance without providing details over the air. The ambulance then headed to St. Luke, but St. Luke informed attendants that whatever patient was involved was not ready to be transported.

“Do you have an estimated time on when you want to do this transfer or are we going to be sitting on it all night?” an ambulance attendant asked.

After receiving no answer, the attendant asked dispatchers to telephone St. Luke. The response was the patient would be ready in about an hour. No subsequent dispatches were recorded until Marion ambulance reported that it had arrived at Wesley at 12:52 a.m.

10:28 p.m. — A LifeSave helicopter ambulance landed at St. Luke and lifted off for Wesley with the baby at 11:19 p.m.

MONDAY

1:39 a.m. — With Marion ambulance still en route back from Wichita, Hillsboro ambulance was dispatched to the county jail after a 24-year-old male inmate was reported to be having trouble breathing. The inmate apparently was not taken to a hospital. The ambulance returned to Hillsboro at 2:23 a.m.

9:25 a.m. — A 70-year-old man acting unusually after surgery for a brain bleed a week earlier was taken by Marion ambulance to Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, Wichita, from a farmhouse near 190th and Quail Creek Rds. The ambulance returned to Marion at 12:25 a.m.

1:28 p.m. — A 65-year-old man with a broken hip was transferred by Hillsboro ambulance from Westview Manor, Peabody, to St. Luke. On instructions from the county ambulance director, Peabody ambulance also was dispatched as a first-response unit.

4:10 p.m. — A 65-year-old male surgical patient was transferred by Marion ambulance from St. Luke to NMC.

5:56 p.m. — Marion ambulance returned to Marion to stand by during a football game at Marion Stadium.

9:07 p.m. — An unconscious 40-year-old woman at a residence in the 200 block of N. Main St. in Hillsboro was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance. A Hillsboro first responder made initial contact. Marion ambulance announced that it would respond as well. Hillsboro firefighters were summoned to help lift the patient.

9:34 p.m. — An 81-year-old woman who fell at a residence in the 400 block of S. Coble St. in Marion was taken to St. Luke by Marion ambulance.