Truck four copy, we're currently level 0.
We'll get someone started as
soon as they're available.
Engine 74 AM R's Level 0, Level 0. That's
code for when someone calls
911 in need of an ambulance,
but there isn't one available. Engine
4:00 AM R's Level 0 AM R's Leve0
Around midnight on the morning of Friday,
April 28th, all working ambulane
crews in Multnomah County were d
up. Truck 1:00 AM R is level 0. Dispatchers
told fire crews they're on their
own to treat medical issues.
Then this call came in.
Engine 19 AM R is level 0 at
Northeast Police in in Northeast
8/2 for a female down in the st.
The dispatcher had one detail w.
It was a man in a wheelchair
who was badly hurt.
He had been hit by a hitandrun driver
while trying to cross the stree.
Police said they believe he
was in or near a crosswalk.
The dispatch log from that night
shows someone called 911 at 12:10 AM.
Firefighters arrived just
4 minutes later at 1214.
An ambulance didn't,
not for 28 more minutes.
And engine 19.
You're going to have medic 339,
engine 19, traffic without a do.
If you have an ambulance on
that call, when the call comes
in, you at least give that
person the benefit of the doubt.
At least get that person the ability to to.
Have a chance to to live.
The man in the wheelchair died at the scene.
His death is an open investigatn
and Portland police still
haven't released his name.
The American Medical Response ambulance
left just 5 minutes after getting there.
Transport to the hospital
was no longer viable.
I've been reporting
on these slipping standards
in emergency response.
See Multnomah County contracts with a Mr.
and for months and months AM R has failed
to respond to emergencies on ti,
typically within about 8 minute.
That puts a lot of pressure on
fire crews to get there quickly
and to stabilize the patient,
something I asked Multnomah
County EMS Medical Director Dr.
John Joe about back in March.
The fire department is basically
doing their job, is stabilizinge
patients before am markets thers
that too much of A strain or reliance
on the fire crews getting there?
When they do, it is because of honestly
the fire crews are have their hands full
but firefighters are also limit,
they can't transport patients.
Even though every firefighter
is at least EMT certified,
they don't have the same
resources as an ambulance crew
and nothing close to a hospital.
In March, Jew said late arriving
ambulances had not affected
the medical outcomes for people
in need of emergency care.
We have not seen any significant
clinical degradation.
We've been quote, knock on wood, lucky,
and this is a situation we're tg
to remedy right now here as wel.
But this case tells a different story.
And the ambulance takes as long
as this one did to get there.
It's it's really terrible.
We can't just be OK with that.
You know, as as firefighters,
we have to, you know,
speak up and we see something that's wrong.
And this is wrong.
Isaac McLennan is a longtime
firefighter and president
of the firefighters union.
He talked to the crew
who responded that night.
The general impression of the
crew is when they saw that that
this person was in, was, was,
was in dire need of immediate treatment
and so much so that, you know.
They they appear lifeless,
but they weren't. They were ali.
And that means that escalates uo
the maximum level of our abilit.
KGW has video of firefighters providing
first aid to the man in the wheelchair.
We're not showing that part of e
video due to its gruesome natur,
but the video does show the man
moving his arm on his own power.
Well, after fire crews and police arrived,
McLennan says there was no
practical way firefighters could
have transported this man.
He needed an ambulance,
but that took too long.
More and more, day after day,
we're seeing this Level 0
pop up and as firefighters,
we're just getting frustrated ad
this is a highly dangerous situn
and it should be unacceptable fr
not only just for firefighters,
it should be unacceptable for everybody
who who lives in this community.
Ambulance provider AMR sent
me a statement saying they are
reviewing this incident to bettr
understand what happened and the
company is committed to respondg
to all calls in a timely manner.
But I know from my previous
reporting on this topic,
Amar says it's struggling with paramedic
staffing and they blame staffing
shortages for delayed response times.
Plus, I'm currently working through data
that shows just how many times .
has been at level 0 so far this
year with no ambulances availab.
I'll have that update soon.
Evan Watson reporting.