Posted on 09/22/2009 7:57:14 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Ambulances race to Byrd's home By: Manu Raju September 22, 2009 10:16 AM EST
Ambulances and fire trucks were dispatched to the Northern Virginia home of Sen. Robert Byrd Tuesday morning.
A neighbor of the 91-year-old West Virginia Democrat said several ambulances were outside his residence in McLean, Va., and a Byrd spokesman said the senator suffered a fall in his home. An officer at the McLean Fire Department said that a unit was dispatched at 9:10 to the address where Byrd lives, but he declined to comment on the substance of the response.
Byrd – the longest-serving senator in the nation’s history – has been absent from the Senate for much of the year and has been in and out of the hospital battling various ailments.
“Byrd apparently stood up too fast this morning in his home and fell down,” said Jesse Jacobs, a spokesman for the senator. “To err on the side of caution his caregiver called an ambulance. He was taken to the hospital where he is currently being checked out. At this point in time there is no indication that he will be admitted.”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
“Seems like a waste of resources.”
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It IS, in the vast majority of cases.
But, prepare for incoming.....
OMG!!I am laughing so hard..Thanks!
That said why the heck don’t these old farts retire..I am all for the elderly working they are the most intelligent people around,but when it gets to the point of Byrd spending more time in bed at home than in Washington then it is time he is gone...Do they take this man to Washington to vote and then take him home in Air Force One ever day..
He should have made sure the eye-holes in the hood were properly aligned before trying to navigate through the living room to get his torch and rope.
Just as they trot out Dukakas to replace the Kennedy vote.
Sheets, the next to go.
It’s so that if the guy/girl/man/women as a fatso they can get him/her/it out and into the meat wagon.
In DC they send both EMT and Fire Trucks for every drunk found on the street. I always thought that this was a massive waste of funds. DC was also against privatizing EMT services. Look for the union label.
It’s not often that the white sheet they use to cover the body can also be used as funeral garb.
I've found myself with a strange affection for Byrd ever since I realized that. I also think that he's the ONLY Democrat with the gravitas to be their Howard Baker to Obama's Nixon.
I am going to risk FReeper damnation and possibly banning.
I am not at all sympathetic to his plight. I could not give a single half-hearted excuse of a damn for the sorrows of his family.
If that man had died many years ago our Republic would have been much better for it.
If he stays alive, such is the will of God. Don’t bother to ask ME what I think.
Throw Lautenberg into that mix as well.
The governor of WV is a Democrat. What happens if there is a vacancy—gubernatorial appointment or special election?
West Virginia? Democrat of course.
Maybe he used too much kerosene and burlap on the Cross last night.
Even though the armed forces were then segregated, Byrd was a World War II draft dodger:
“I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.”
It’s beginning to be like “Weekend at Roberts”. He’s in the hospital all the time.
Term limits and this wouldn’t be an issue.
And the winner is?
Sometimes it is, but if you need equipment on the engine to extricate someone, remove a fixed object impaling them so they can be transported with the object in place until medical personnel can remove it in the hospital, etc, you want the equipment there right away. The delay can be the difference between life and death.
People who call 9-1-1 aren't always completely accurate nor comprehensive in their description of the situation.
There are several reasons for sending fire units.
First, many paramedic units are staffed at BLS levels and require a driver from a different unit if they need to make an Advanced Life Support transport.
Second, fire department resources may be closer, so they can get first responders on scene more quickly. Most fire departments require all firefighter to be at least EMTs, and many departments are all paramedic.
I don’t know the protocol in the area, but in Milwaukee, the fire department is dispatched to provide EMS care, then a private ambulance is called for transport unless the patient needs advanced life support transport. This is a common protocol in larger cities.
Finally, in many cases (not this one), when a person has fallen, the fire department will be needed to force entry into the house.
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