EMERGENCY
DISPATCHES
Broadcasts about these fire and ambulance calls were monitored this past week by the newspaper:
DEC. 20
2:59 p.m. — A 61-year-old man with a fractured hip was transferred by Hillsboro ambulance from Hillsboro Community Hospital to NMC Health, formerly Newton Medical Center. The ambulance returned to Hillsboro at 4:42 p.m.
DEC. 21
1:29 a.m. — A 63-year-old man with a brain bleed was transferred by Hillsboro ambulance from HCH to Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, Wichita. The ambulance returned at 3:41 a.m.
9:44 a.m. — A 71-year-old woman vomiting and falling out of her wheelchair in a garage in the 100 block of S. Summit St. in Goessel was taken to NMC by Hillsboro ambulance. Goessel first responders helped with the call.
THURSDAY
12:28 a.m. — An 89-year-old woman feeling ill in the 300 block of N. Walnut St. in Peabody was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance. Dispatchers initially paged Peabody ambulance but were informed only one emergency medical technician was available, and the ambulance could respond only as a first-response unit. Dispatchers then paged Marion ambulance, which responded, but attendants soon after were told that dispatchers had intended to page Hillsboro ambulance instead. Hillsboro attendants informed the Peabody EMT to stand down. Hillsboro ambulance arrived 32 minutes after the initial call. Twenty minutes after that, it departed with the patient for HCH. The ambulance was back in its quarters at 2:26 a.m.
8:21 a.m. — A 62-year-old woman felling out of sorts at an apartment in the 100 block of W. Santa Fe St. in Marion was taken by Marion ambulance to St. Luke Hospital, Marion.
11:32 a.m. — A 76-year-old woman needing medical evaluation was transferred from Peabody Health and Rehab to NMC by Hillsboro ambulance. The ambulance returned to Hillsboro at 1:37 p.m.
2:31 p.m. — A county jail inmate suspected of having ingested chemicals was taken to St. Luke by Marion ambulance.
5:51 a.m. — A 95-year-old woman with an infected cut on her arm at Indian Guide Terrace Apartments in Peabody requested evaluation by Peabody ambulance attendants but declined to be taken to a hospital.
6:02 p.m. — A fire alarm heard by a pedestrian near Coble and Denver Sts. in Marion was determined by Marion police and firefighters to have been a malfunctioning carbon monoxide detector.
6:07 p.m. — An 84-year-old woman with a pacemaker who was found on the floor of a farmhouse near 30th and Mustang Rds. with chest pains and abnormal responsiveness declined to be taken to a hospital by Peabody ambulance. Hillsboro also was paged. Peabody ambulance reported that it was tied up on the previous call at Indian Guide Terrace and would head to the farmhouse after it completed that assignment. It arrived at 6:21 p.m. The call to Hillsboro ambulance was then canceled.
FRIDAY
12:56 a.m. — A 41-year-old woman with low blood sugar in the 100 block of E. 9th St. in Florence declined to be taken to a hospital by Marion ambulance.
5:34 a.m. — A man receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation from family members at a residence on Strassburg Dr. at Eastshore was pronounced dead after Marion ambulance arrived. Hillsboro ambulance also had been dispatched.
9:46 a.m. — A weak 62-year-old man wanting to go to a hospital from the 300 block of N. 3rd St. in Marion was taken to St. Luke by Marion ambulance.
2 p.m. — A 60-year-old woman on oxygen and suffering chest pains at Indian Guide Terrace Apartments in Peabody was taken to NMC Health by Hillsboro ambulance, which arrived 21 minutes after the initial call. Marion ambulance also responded to the call.
3:57 p.m. — Marion ambulance transferred a patient from St. Luke to Wesley Medical Center, Wichita. The ambulance returned to Marion at 6:37 p.m.
5:14 p.m. — A 62-year-old woman was transferred by a helicopter ambulance from St. Luke to St. Francis.
6:26 p.m. — Hillsboro’s fire chief responded to HCH after a water main broke, setting off alarms and spewing water in the hospital’s emergency room.
7:18 p.m. — Hillsboro ambulance and Goessel firefighters, rescue squad members, and first responders were dispatched to what initially was reported to be a fire in an occupied pickup at K-15 and 110th Rd. The first firefighter on the scene found no smoke or fire but a possibly intoxicated senior citizen standing next to the vehicle and wanting to drive it home to Canton. A deputy sheriff who arrived at the scene about 20 minutes later took the person into custody.
8:28 p.m. — A confused 86-year-old woman in the 100 block of Ashley Dr. in Marion was taken to St. Luke by Marion ambulance. Hillsboro ambulance initially responded as well but was called off.
9:11 p.m. — A 79-year-old woman who fell in the 100 block of W. Commercial St. in Goessel declined to be taken to a hospital by Hillsboro ambulance. A first responder from Goessel also was called.
11:50 p.m. — A 72-year-old man with liver cirrhosis and bleeding gums in the 300 block of E. 7th St. in Peabody was taken to NMC by Hillsboro ambulance. A lone EMT in Peabody ambulance also responded. Hillsboro ambulance returned to its station at 1:55 a.m.
CHRISTMAS EVE
9:11 a.m. — Marion’s fire chief disabled a fire suppression system that sounded an alarm at Marion Assisted Living after a water pipe burst.
12:28 p.m. — A 2-year-old boy who fell, hit his head, and possibly had a seizure at a farm near 90th and Chisholm Trail Rds. was not taken to a hospital by Hillsboro ambulance. Marion ambulance initially was dispatched as well but was called off. Goessel first responders were paged but did not reply.
3:26 p.m. — A fire alarm at Tabor College townhouses was determined by Hillsboro firefighters to have been caused by a frozen pipe that burst. A second alarm at the Tabor men’s quad soon afterward was determined to have been set off by steam from a broken hot water pipe.
5:03 p.m. — A nauseated 21-year-old man who pulled over while driving near 180th and Indigo Rds. declined to be taken to a hospital by Hillsboro ambulance. Dispatchers speculated that he had suffered a panic attack.
6:56 p.m. — Hillsboro firefighters were called to check a carbon monoxide detector in the 400 block of E. Grand Ave. It apparently had sounded because its battery was low.
7:30 p.m. — A series of bulletins every hour-hour notified county units to be on the lookout for a “flying object that seems to be a large sleigh pulled by several reindeer, one leading with a glowing red nose . . . and driven by a male subject last seen wearing a red suit with white trim, a large black belt, shiny black boots, and a red hat.” The notice went on to say: “Subject has a long white beard, bushy white eyebrows, and a large round belly. Male subject has been seen carrying a rather large red bag full of gifts.” It concluded with a message identifying the subject as Santa Claus and urging all children to be in bed.
10:08 p.m. — An uninjured 78-year-old man who fell at Marion Assisted Living was helped up by Marion ambulance attendants. He declined to be taken to a hospital.
CHRISTMAS DAY
1:02 a.m. — A fire in a shed housing semi trucks and trailers adjacent to a farmhouse near 140th and Kanza Rds. was quickly brought under control by firefighters from Hillsboro, Marion, and Peabody, some of whom remained on the scene for more than three hours.
7:01 a.m. — Another fire alarm related to water flow at Marion Assisted Living was checked by Marion’s fire chief.
9:13 a.m. — A third alarm at Marion Assisted Living was checked. Crews were reported to be working on the center’s fire suppression system.
11:51 a.m. — An uninjured 79-year-old woman who fell near a broken water line in a back yard in the 100 block of W. 4th St. in Florence declined to be taken to a hospital by Marion ambulance. Florence firefighters help lift the woman.
MONDAY
2:25 a.m. — A 74-year-old woman suffering what was feared to be a stroke at Sunrise Townhomes in Marion was taken to St. Luke by Marion ambulance.
11:59 a.m. — A 58-year-old man was transferred by Hillsboro ambulance from HCH to NMC. The ambulance returned to Hillsboro at 1:47 p.m.
6:22 p.m. — A Salem Home resident with cardiac issues and loss of appetite was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance.
Last modified Dec. 28, 2022