LETTER: Wondering about EMS protocols

To the editor:

I would like to preface this letter by saying that I in NO WAY find fault with those who dispatch the Mat-Su Borough’s Emergency Services (ie. fire departments, ambulances, etc.), for any part of the following. Those dispatchers who field emergency calls for the MSB, are some of the finest in the United States, and do outstanding work in an extremely stressful job. They deserve thanks from us all. On October 19th, while on my way to Wasilla on the Parks Highway, I happened upon a vehicle accident near Nancy Lake Parkway. The accident had happened not much more than five minutes prior to my arrival, as people were still getting out of their vehicles. It appeared that a small car had been traveling north on the Parks, and had rear ended a truck. As a former firefighter and medic for the Borough, my first instinct was to do a quick size-up of things looking for additional hazards, and then made contact with those involved. The car was totaled and all airbags were deployed. I spoke to those who were in the car, and asked if they were okay. With shaking voices, and as white as a sheet, they said they were okay. I called 911 and gave them the information that included where it was, the condition of the vehicles and the information about the condition of the occupants, and that they had denied any injury. Because I’m aware of the forces involved required to total a car to that extent (compartment intrusion, etc.) I told the dispatcher that it might be a good idea to send an ambulance to ensure their well being, because people involved in an accident of this magnitude, especially so soon after the incident happened, have been known to deny injury, only to start feeling hidden injuries as the adrenaline started to wear off. The EMS dispatcher politely informed me that if those involved denied injury, that the protocol was to not send any responders to the scene. She then transferred me to an AST dispatcher to whom I gave the same info. I don’t know what the actual protocols are now, but in the past, if there was an MVA and the airbags had deployed, that was cause for the dispatch of an ambulance to the scene. I’m curious when this was changed, why, and under whose authority?

Randy Poppert

Willow