Delaware Firemen Pursue Ambulance Patient Safety Concerns

The Delaware Volunteer Firemen’s Association says it is looking into the safety of patient compartments in ambulances.

Executive secretary Jim Cubbage says questions first surfaced after a January accident that injured three members of a Millsboro ambulance crew.

Last week, an ambulance accident near Angola killed a Sussex County paramedic and an 82-year-old Lewes woman. The patient compartment was ripped open when the driver swerved to avoid a deer and hit a tree.

A recent evaluation by Fire Chief, a magazine for fire and ambulance crews, concluded that ambulances have a higher fatality and injury rate per mile than other emergency vehicles. The report found occupants of patient compartments in box-style vehicles are poorly protected during side-impact crashes.

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Information from: The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal, http://www.delawareonline.com