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(CBS 11 News) DALLAS When you dial 9-1-1, how quickly do you expect a police officer to respond? Some crime victims in Dallas have waited for hours for police to arrive on scene. A CBS 11 investigation found that the problem is widespread. When a crime has been committed against you, there's usually a sinking feeling. "I opened the door, and the first thing I see was the T.V. was missing," said Dallas resident Jonathan Cardenas. "When I pulled my drapes back, the door was wide open," said another victim, a 94-year-old woman. Then there's usually an instinct to seek...

The grieving son of a dead city cop is waiting to hear from you, Mr. President. His message: Please help the ailing heroes of 9/11 so that no more have to die. "I just want the President to look in my face and see how important it is that we get help," 21-year-old Ceasar Borja Jr. told the Daily News yesterday, a day after his cop father succumbed to lung disease after spending 16-hour days atop the smoldering wreckage of Ground Zero. "I want him to hear how my father died a hero," added Borja, "and how there are many...

When a 73-year-old Londoner collapsed at a betting shop on New Year's Eve afternoon, his luck had run out – thanks to European Union rules that required two nearby ambulance crews to be kept on their 30-minute breaks. A paramedic arrived by rapid-response car in a matter of minutes to the shopping center where the unnamed senior was stricken and began caring for the man. Witnesses say he made desperate calls on his cell phone in an attempt to have an ambulance dispatched. The London Ambulance Service, which has launched an investigation of the incident, confirmed that two crews were...

Elderly woman forced to drag herself up steps into her own homeLast updated at 22:00pm on 23rd October 2006  Pensioner Ellen Summers was left unaided by paramedics because of health and safety rules A frail 82-year-old woman was forced to shuffle up a set of steps on her bum after paramedics refused to help because of health and safety regulations. Ambulance bosses are to carry out an investigation after Ellen Summers claimed she was forced to pull herself backwards up steps and along a corridor to get into her house. The angry pensioner from Bradford, West Yorks., said the...

On a mild and clear night in September, their bodies covered only in blankets, Judith Howard and April Sellers climbed out of their upstairs window onto the roof of their home in St. Paul's Merriam Park. About 40 people watched from the backyard lawn, nearly all of them fellow artists — dancers, actors, singers and poets. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of wine, a lot of flirty energy. Many had been here before, for one or both of the women's previous performance parties, and some were still talking about what they did with strawberries. So nobody flinched...

NEW BEDFORD, Mass., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- One victim of the hatchet attack Feb. 1 at a Massachusetts gay bar said he was treated badly in the ambulance because he was gay. Robert Perry, himself a paramedic supervisor with Mercy-General Ambulance in Boston, said the New Bedford EMS ambulance personnel ignored his complaints, were rough with him and slammed an oxygen mask on his face where the gash was. Teenager Jacob D. Robida was eventually killed by police after swinging a hatchet in the bar Puzzles. Perry said he is filing a complaint with the Massachusetts Department of Health's Office...

Trapped in New Orleans by the flood--and martial law The real heroes and sheroes of New Orleans September 9, 2005 | Pages 4 and 5 LARRY BRADSHAW and LORRIE BETH SLONSKY are emergency medical services (EMS) workers from San Francisco and contributors to Socialist Worker. They were attending an EMS conference in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck. They spent most of the next week trapped by the flooding--and the martial law cordon around the city. Here, they tell their story. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TWO DAYS after...

NEW ORLEANS (AFPN) -- Chaplain (Capt.) Dan Thompson admits he has never preached from an airline podium before. Then again, many aspects about the massive relief effort going on at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport are a first. The Air Force chaplain from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., was joined by Army chaplains to conduct the first chapel service held at the airport since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans on Aug. 29. “It’s kind of like a holy huddle at the end of a rough week,” said Army Sgt. Carlos Ignacio, a military policeman from the California National Guard...

Reprinted from EMS news EMS Command -- Hilton New Orleans Riverside By John R. Brophy, EMT On the morning before Katrina hit New Orleans I had made contact with Hilton Security Captain Lucien Fortone to offer my assistance as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), little did I know that a few days later I would have been part of a team of guests and staff that would come together like a family and do so much for so many. As others came forward to help, we organized into a cohesive unit, developed a plan, and established our own Incident...

Help. Some days/weeks before Terri died, there were posts re the conditon of the Schaivo house the night Terri collapsed. The ems folks were concerned enough to call police. There was also a post about a police officer who began an investigation & was told to shut it down. I've spent the better part of an hour looking for these threads, but can't find them. Can anyone help?

For two hours on Monday, an ambulance sat in the parking lot of Sunnybrook hospital's emergency department with a suspected SARS case on board. In the back of the ambulance, two paramedics kept a close eye on the deteriorating and contagious patient, all within the tiny 1.5-by-2.5-metre isolation unit on wheels. The paramedics had called ahead to tell the hospital to prepare a negative pressure room and be ready for this patient. It didn't matter. They were forced to sit and wait. "There's a lot running through your mind," said paramedic Marty Bulai, who had a similar incident at Scarborough...

<p>The D.C. inspector general is investigating Fire Chief Ronnie Few for errors in his resume, while Assistant Fire Chief Gary L. Garland, who was disciplined for false information in his resume, has said he will resign.</p> <p>Inspector General Charles Maddox has added Chief Few's resume to an ongoing inquiry of the fire chief's hiring of a friend as a consultant without disclosing his ties to the contractor, city officials said. Since last week, investigators have interviewed city officials and members of the selection committee that recruited and interviewed Chief Few in 1999. They have asked if Chief Few corrected errors in his resume or made any untrue claims. Stephen Harlan, former D.C. financial control board member and chairman of the fire chief search committee in 1999, yesterday said he has been questioned by the inspector general about Chief Few's resume and the selection process. "They were checking out what was said to the committee," he said. "What I can remember was he held an associate's degree, and we had checked it out." Mr. Harlan would not disclose more information. Lt. Raymond Sneed, president of the D.C. Fire Fighters Association Local 36 and a member of the selection committee, said he also has been interviewed by the inspector general's office about Chief Few's resume. "I think they are going back and double-checking the resume issue. They wanted to know at the time who dealt with the resume in the selection committee. They wanted to verify the resume issue," Lt. Sneed said yesterday. Gloria Johnson, chief of staff and spokeswoman for the inspector general, said she could not comment. Lisa Bass, spokeswoman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, said she was not aware of the inspector general's investigation. Miss Bass also said Chief Garland has decided to resign effective May 26. The Washington Times first reported March 13 that Chief Garland, Assistant Chief Marcus R. Anderson and Deputy Chief Bruce A. Cowan lied in their resumes about having held the rank of chief in their previous jobs in the East Point, Ga., Fire Department. The firefighters, whose resumes also had errors about their educational achievements, were friends and subordinates of Chief Few when he led the East Point Fire Department in the 1990s. The Washington Post reported April 12 that Chief Few's resume erroneously stated that he had received a bachelor's degree from Morris Brown College in Atlanta and received the "1998 Fire Chief of the Year" award from the International Association of Fire Fighters, which does not bestow such awards. City Administrator John Koskinen, who investigated the resume scandal for six weeks, said all four chiefs were disciplined in the matter on April 26. Chief Garland's resignation comes one month after he was suspended for falsely claiming on his job application that he held an associate's degree from Dillard University in New Orleans. The university has no record of his enrollment or attendance. Chief Garland claimed a secretary made the error in his job application and his resume. Chief Anderson returned to work last week and Chief Cowan was back at work yesterday. Neither would comment. Chief Garland would not comment, and his attorney, Vandy L. Jamison Jr., did not return telephone calls. Lt. Sneed yesterday said investigators also questioned him about how the city law was changed to allow Chief Few to appoint Chiefs Garland, Anderson and Cowan without competition. At the request of Mayor Anthony A. Williams, the D.C. Council approved the creation of three jobs — fire marshal, EMS chief and safety chief — that Chief Few could fill without competition. In return for the carte blanche appointments, Chief Few promised not to hire his cronies. Mr. Koskinen, who is conducting his own investigation of Chief Few, said last week he had not asked the inspector general to investigate the fire chief. A city government source said Mr. Koskinen is searching the files of other cities for other resumes sent by Chief Few when he applied for jobs. Chief Few originally said a secretary made the errors on his resume, but last week he said the mayor's office made the errors. Tony Bullock, spokesman for Mr. Williams, said yesterday that he does not think the mayor's staff made any changes in Chief Few's resume, and that all biographical information was provided by Chief Few. "One of the things we do with school board appointments and other new hires is make a press release from resumes we get from personnel and rewrite them to make more of a bio, not just bullets and dates," Mr. Bullock said. "Few is saying we essentially took the resume and were sloppy about converting. But I don't think anyone rewrote it." Mr. Bullock said he doubts that Mr. Williams will say anything about Chief Few's resume until Mr. Koskinen has completed his investigation. Sources within the mayor's office said Chief Few has not taken hints from Mr. Williams and others who have suggested that he resign. They said they couldn't guess the reaction of Mr. Williams, who returned to the District yesterday from a trip to Europe. A city source said the mayor's staffers are furious with Chief Few for trying to place blame on them for putting errors in his resume. "They are livid that he would blame them for his errors," the source said. The inspector general began investigating Chief Few in December about no-bid contracts awarded to Carl Holmes, a former Oklahoma City assistant fire chief and a friend of Chief Few's for more than 20 years. The investigation began after The Times reported Dec. 11 that Chiefs Few and Garland had awarded sole-source contracts worth $23,500 to Carl Holmes and Associates since October 2000. Mr. Holmes worked 13 days for the department, earning a daily fee of about $1,800. Chiefs Few and Garland both worked as instructors and lecturers for Mr. Holmes at the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute, but neither disclosed their ties to the contractor on their city financial disclosure reports. City disclosure laws require than any affiliation and payments of more than $100 from city contractors be identified. Filing a false financial disclosure statement can bring a fine of up to $5,000 and up to five years in jail, according to the D.C. Code. Chiefs Garland and Anderson both claimed they attended Dillard University but actually attended Mr. Holmes' conference at the university. The institute is not affiliated with the university, which only rents space to Mr. Holmes. The confusion in Chief Few's resume also involves the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute, which gave him the fire chief award — not the International Association of Fire Fighters. The institute's curriculum includes classes in fire management, resume writing and creative writing courses. • Jabeen Bhatti contributed to this report.</p>

Austin firefighter group wants all rescue operations to be placed within Fire Department. As large urban fires have yielded to the challenge of medical rescues, some Austin firefighters fear that their stomping grounds will be trampled by paramedics. Sept. 11 images of firefighters rescuing and caring for victims of terror in New York showed the public what many firefighters already knew: Medical and rescue missions are more common today than putting out fires. Now, the Austin firefighters union wants to do away with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services and assume all rescue and medical operations within the city. EMS would...