FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-EMERGENCYNET NEWS SVC.-04/24/93-1700CDT EmergencyNet NEWS From Across the Nation #3-93 By: Paul Anderson, Correspondent Amy Grant, Correspondent Clark Staten, Editor 02/11/93 CLINICAL TRIALS COMPLETED ON RESCUEFLOW I VOLUME EXPANDER La Jolla, CA - A new volume expansion product for use in the treatment of trauma victims has recently completed Phase III clinical trails at trauma centers in Denver CO, Houston TX, and Milwaukee, WI. Rescueflow is a proprietary solution that contains 7.5% saline and 6% Dextran-70 (HSD). Reportedly, the solution has been used successfully on more than 1,200 trauma patients during the clinical trials. Rescueflow I was developed at the University of California, under contract to the U.S. Department of Defense. Additional research and development of the solution was conducted by the U.S. Army and the National Institute of Health. The solution has also been tested in certain types of surgical procedures and in the management of patients in hospital intensive care units. Researchers say that the use of Rescueflow I and it's "second generation" solution- Rescueflow II, coupled with advanced medical care by paramedics, helicopter rescue crews, and trauma centers could result in the saving of hundreds of lives a year. 02/17/93 11 YEAR OLD ARRESTED AFTER STEALING AMBULANCE Riverside, CA - Police officials say that a crew from the Cathedral City Ambulance Service was shocked to find that their parked ambulance wasn't there when they came out of a house to go to the hospital. According to a police spokesperson, an eleven (11) year old boy had stolen the ambulance and took several local police agencies on a 90- minute chase that travelled throughout the Coachella Valley area. Fire Battalion Chief Doug Brown said that the boy's trail was picked up after a report was received that a fire ambulance had "sideswiped" another vehicle. According to witnesses, the ambulance that hit the car never even slowed down following the accident. The boy was seen by a witness in Rancho Mirage CA and eventually in Palm Desert. Police say that they issued a county-wide alert for the stolen ambulance. Shortly after that, the youth found himself trapped in a washed out construction zone of a local highway project. He was unable to escape and was soon captured by local police and turned over to Riverside County juvenile authorities. The boy was charged with grand-theft-auto, hit and run driving, and interfering in a fire dept. rescue. Reportedly, the boy already had an extensive juvenile record. 02/20/93 LITTLE KNOWN SHERIFF PROVES SUCCESSFUL New York, NY - In the major metropolis of New York City, there is a little known group of law enforcement professionals who have been extremely successful at their jobs in the past three years. The group, headed by Sheriff Philip Crimaldi, has been waging an all-out war on scofflaws and debtors in the nation's largest city. Crimaldi is the Sheriff of New York City. Since 1990, Crimaldi and his deputies have collected more than $132 million in fines and assessments against parking violators, and those who ignore building code, fire, and sanitation regulations. According to official budget reports, the NYC Sheriff's office collected more than $35 million dollars in parking fines during 1992. Crimaldi isn't without his detractors, however. Store owners, City council members, and business people are all complaining about the high-profile approach that the Sheriff's office is taking in collecting past due fines. Reportedly, Crimaldi has burst into stores, sealed them off with cordon tape, and demanded immediate payment from store owners. Worse, his critics contend, was the story of having a local Rabbi's van towed for overdue parking tickets, as the Rabbi's staff was reportedly delivering meals to the elderly. Crimaldi says that he "has made a few mistakes", but that he ahs also collected millions for a city budget that is severely strained. Further, the Sheriff of NYC says that he has angered some politicians and people who are "very well connected". Crimaldi's was quoted by the Associated Press (AP) as saying, "Well . . . that's too bad". Sheriff Crimaldi says his only concern is collecting the monies owed to the city and ensuring fairness in the administration of the Sheriff's office. Lately, he has taken to inviting local mini-cam crews to accompany him on business raids, and video-taping all major operations that his office undertakes. This policy proved very beneficial in recent days when Crimaldi was able to call a news conference and present a video-tape of an alleged complaint against the Sheriff's office. Per usual, the Sheriff of New York won the media battle and is winning the "cash-crunch" war. 02/22/93 SARAJEVO FIREFIGHTERS GET HELP FROM U.S.A. Bristol, RI - Firefighter John Jordan, a volunteer firefighter from the local fire company, has undertaken a major task. Jordan recently spent his three week vacation visiting with firefighters in the war-striken town of Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Firefighter Jordan said that he had heard that the firefighters in Sarajevo didn't have the necessary equipment to fight the frequent fires caused by the constant shelling of nation's capitol. Worse, Jordan said that the firefighters in Sarajevo were often the target of Serbian snipers, who shot at firefighters as they tried to extinguish fires and rescue victims of the on-going conflict. Jordan was quoted by the United Press International as saying that "it is unthinkable that they would shoot at firefighters . . . they were trying to save lives, but the Serbs don't care and shoot at any fire truck they see". Firefighter Jordan and several of his friends say that want to return later this year with donated firefighting clothing and hand tools. A charitable organization, called the Rhode Island Volunteer Group of the Sarajevo Firemen's Fund, has been formed and formally recognized by both the United Nations and the Boznia-Herzgovina government. United Nation's restrictions and embargos allow firefighting equipment to be imported into the country as humanitarian aid. Jordan and his group can be contacted at: Rhode Island Volunteer Group for Sarajevo Fireman's Fund C/O John Jordan P.O. Box 788 Newport, RI 02840 (401) 849-2523 (Editor's note: EmergencyNet NEWS and the Emergency Response & Research Institute supports John Jordan and other like him, who unselfishly help those in the most need . . . won't you?) 02/22/93 WEST PALM BEACH POST REPORTS 78% OF FEMA MONEY SPENT FOR NUCLEAR DEFENSE West Palm Beach, FL - As previously reported by EmergencyNet NEWS, vast amounts of money have been spent during the past decade to fund a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program to protect the government from the effects of a nuclear attack. According to the West Palm Beach Post, 78% of FEMA's budget in the years 1982-1991 was spent on a secret program to build a sophisticated communications and bunker network that would allow the government to function after a nuclear exchange. In contrast, only 6.6% of the agency's budget was spent on mitigation of natural/manmade disasters within the United States. The report, following a six-month investigation of the allocation of FEMA's budget, was extremely critical of FEMA's response to the Hurricane Andrew disaster that devastated South Florida last year. The Post's report follows severe criticism of FEMA for its reportedly ineffectual response to Hurricane Hugo and a major Earthquake that flattened parts of San Francisco, CA. In its defense, FEMA says that its role included the protection of the United States from nuclear attack, and that it only spent 11% or $1.3 billion dollars of its budget on "government preparedness . . . devoted to classified activities in support of the nation's security", during the timeframes suggested in the West Palm Beach Post report. In an official response to the Post charges, FEMA went on to say that it spent 89% or $10.6 billion dollars on "domestic preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery activities". Unclear, however, was what percentage of the $10.6 billion dollars were also devoted to "civil defense activities" that didn't relate to responding to domestic emergencies. A FEMA spokesperson declined to comment further on the on the prepared statement. FEMA has been criticized by both emergency response experts and political operatives, in recent years, for dedicating large amounts of resources to nuclear defense while largely neglecting an increasing number of natural disasters in the United States. Because of breakup of the U.S.S.R., international policy analysts have questioned the wisdom of large scale spending on nuclear defense programs as the threat level continues to decrease. Several experts have called for a reorganization of FEMA that would shift its priorities to early response and mitigation activities, which would be of the most help to the victims of any large scale domestic disaster. 02/23/93 TWO COMPTON POLICE OFFICERS KILLED Compton, CA - Reserve Officer James MacDonald, 23 and Officer Kevin Burrell, age 29 were mysteriously shot to death in what was being described by fellow officers as a "routine traffic stop". Both officers were reportedly shot several times as they stopped a pickup truck in a mixed residential and business area of Compton. Witnesses described the pickup truck as containing two assailants, and that it drove off right after the shooting occurred. Two facts strike investigators as being peculiar about the case. According to the preliminary police reports, neither officer was able to return fire, which seems indicative of them both being completely surprised by the assault. Secondarily, both officers were wearing bullet resistant garments, which apparently didn't influence the outcome of the shootings. Evidence at the scene showed that there were at least two gunmen and that they both fired on the officers; differing shell casings were found near the officer's body's. Compton Police Lt. Joe Flores said that many of the details of the shootings remain under investigation, and that he couldn't comment on the motive involved in the officers' deaths. Compton police said that the two officers were the first to die in the line of duty since 1967. (Editor's note: EmergencyNet NEWS sends its prayers and condolences to the family and friends of both officers) 02/28/93 FOUR AGENTS KILLED, FOURTEEN WOUNDED IN CULT ASSAULT Waco, TX - A bloody assault has been carried out by agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) at the Mount Carmel compound of a little known religious sect called "Branch Davidian", ten miles East of here. The original raid to serve warrants occurred early on Sunday morning (Feb. 28th) and was supposed to have been a "complete surprise"; unfortunately it wasn't a surprise and four BATF agents were killed and sixteen wounded by forty- five minutes of withering automatic gunfire from inside the compound. BATF agents killed were Conway LeBleu-age 30, of Hammond LA, Todd Mckeehan-age 28, of Mandelville, LA, Robert Williams-age 26, of Little Rock, AK, and Steven Wills-age 32, of Houston, TX. Of the sixteen (16) other agents that were injured, most were said to have been shot by automatic weapons fire . . . including that from a .50 caliber machinegun. According to BATF agent and spokesperson Sharon Wheeler, "The problem was that we were outgunned . . . and we couldn't fire randomly into the building because of women and children known to be in there." The stand-off between the off-shoot Seventh Day Adventist fundamentalists and more than 250 federal officers have gone on for more than 96 hours. During the course of the siege, Cult leader David Koresh (legal name - Vernon Howell) has offered a number of "biblical tirades" on radio and television stations, before he was isolated from the media by federal law enforcement officials. At one point Koresh offered to surrender himself and all of the estimated seventy-five (75) other "Davidian" followers if he were allowed make a religious speech on a Dallas radio station. But, after making the speech, Koresh did not surrender. During the past several days, however, Koresh has released a total of twenty (20) children, women, and elderly adults. Early reports said that Koresh had been wounded in the initial gunbattle that began the siege. A recording of Koresh's voice on his mother's answering machine said, "Hello mama . . . it's your boy . . . they shot me and I'm dying . . . I'll see you in the skies." Police sources say that the wounds must not be major, or Koresh would not be able continue his negotiations or to direct the defense of the communal compound, which Koresh still reportedly has been doing. Monday (Mar. 1st), the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent it's elite Hostage Rescue Team from Washington, DC, where it had been participating in the Investigation of the World Trade Center bombing. Because of the nature of the crimes associated with murdering a federal agent on Sunday, the FBI is said to have assumed over-all control of the investigation and negotiations at the compound. As many as two hundred and fifty (250) federal, state, and local law enforcement officers are said to have assumed defensive and "over-watch" positions surrounding the heavily-armed compound. BATF and FBI sources have said that they intend to "wait out" Koresh and his followers, and that they don't anticipate a further assault on the compound unless circumstances change dramatically. One agent, who asked to remain anonymous, said that most of the negotiators were hopeful of being able to "manipulate" Koresh into surrendering, but that his irrational behavior and references to "waiting for instructions from God" are troublesome to some agents. He said that there is some fear that Koresh may commit mass murder or cause mass suicide if he is not totally convinced that the negotiations are being satisfactorily conducted. The seige goes on... 03/02/93 SHOCK TRAUMA CENTER DIRECTOR QUITS OVER "POLITICS" Baltimore, MD - The director of one of the nation's leading trauma care centers has reportedly resigned following a series of "political disagreements" with Gov. William Schaefer and Dr. Morton Rapoport of the University of Maryland Medical Systems (UMMS). Dr. Kimball Maull announced his resignation before a meeting of his colleagues at the renowned "Shock Trauma Center". The Maryland Shock Trauma Center was originally developed and built by one of the pioneers in the field of trauma resuscitation, Dr. R. Adams Cowley. Dr. Cowley was internationally known for authoring the idea of "The Golden Hour" in the treatment of traumatically injured patients. The Shock trauma center was his model system that was set up to first test the viability of the concept, and later, to provide expert trauma services to Maryland residents and visitors. During the late Cowley's tenure, the Shock Trauma Center idea was shown to significantly reduce trauma deaths, when patients received the necessary intervention within one hour of their injury. Dr. Maull was appointed to be the center's director following Cowley's death in 1992. He has reportedly been soundly criticized since then by both the medical community and the Governor's office, for the firing of several members of the medical staff. Maull, in his defense, says that he was only trying to "weed-out" those that were impeding some beneficial changes that he intended to make. Maull reportedly said that his disagreements with Dr. Morton Rapoport of UMMS about imposing changes, and the hiring of Richard Judd as executive director of the center, prompted his resignation. Dr. Rapoport refused to comment on Dr. Maull's allegations, according to a UMMS spokeswoman. 03/12/93 ILLINOIS EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ACT EXPIRED IN 1986 Springfield, IL - Illinois lawmakers on Friday remedied a major error in the printing of a revised version of the Illinois Revised Statutes that occurred in 1981. According to the United Press International (UPI), the West Publishing Company left out an important paragraph that contained a "Sunset Provision". This provision effectively caused the EMS Act to expire in 1986. Subsequent editions and reprintings of the Illinois Revised statutes also made the original mistake and failed to include the provision that automatically called for the expiration of the act. The error was only recently discovered by the original publishers, when they were reviewing the recodification of various laws for a future printing. When discovered, numerous elected officials called for a special session to discuss the inclusion of the EMS Act. Both Gov. James Edgar and Illinois lawmakers agreed that the law continued to be necessary, so they met and passed the EMS Act of 1993 and approved all of the seventeen (17) amendments that had been passed since the original adoption of the Act. The recodification of the act appears to have solved the problem for the foreseeable future, but some Illinois EMT's and Paramedics have questioned the possible effect this long-term mistake could have if they were faced with it in civil court. 03/17/93 AMTRAK TRAIN HIT GASOLINE TANKER, SIX DEAD Fort Lauderdale, FL - An eleven (11) car Amtrak train coming from New York City struck a tractor-trailer truck full of 8,500 gallons of gasoline here Wednesday. The truck was reportedly stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic near a railroad crossing when the train approached the intersection. Witnesses say that the railroad crossing gates came down and trapped the truck in-between them, with no place to move forward or backward. The engineer of the train reportedly sounded his horn in accordance with procedures, slowed somewhat, and then applied emergency braking as he saw that the truck wasn't moving. Unfortunately, the train couldn't be stopped in time. The resulting collision caused the tractor-trailer to explode into a huge fireball that engulfed the train, the gasoline truck, and at least nine (9) other vehicles in or near the crossing gates. The fireball also incinerated the lives of at least six (6) people, with another fifteen people injured and taken to several area hospitals. Six people from the train were also taken to the hospital for observation. Killed were the tanker driver, three people in a van and two others from separate cars near the intersection. Witnesses described the explosion as "unbelievable" and said that flames rose more than 200 feet into the air. Then, they said that the sky filled with black smoke that could be seen for miles. People on nearby Interstate 95 said that traffic was slowed by a large volume of "sooty, black smoke" that obstructed their view and made breathing difficult. A Broward County Sheriff's Deputy said that the tanker burned for more than two hours. Firefighters applied massive amounts of AFFF fire-retardant foam to the tanker, as well as the scorched hulks of several other cars that were in the vicinity of the explosion. An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates all large scale transportation accidents, said that road construction near the intersection may have been a factor in the accident. The unnamed official, who emphasized that his report was "preliminary", said that the roadwork caused three normal traffic lanes to merge into one. He hypothesized that the truck driver merged into the one lane and then had no where to go when the railroad warning gates came down. A witness said that the driver tried to "inch" forward, and did, in fact, break a crossing gate at the front of his truck while trying to get off the tracks. Cars then, reportedly, completely blocked his path, and the train struck the back of his trailer. One of the first arriving police officers, a Broward County Sheriff's deputy, was credited by witnesses with rescuing one person from a burning vehicle, and attempting to pull another person from yet another car. He was reportedly driven back by the intensive heat and was unable to save the second motorist. Firefighters, who arrived shortly after that, were also credited with rescuing several people from cars and vans that were involved in the fire. Rescue and firefighting operations continued for more than two hours. A complete investigation is underway by the NTSB, Broward County Sheriff's Office, Amtrak, the CSX railway, and several other official agencies. 03/19/93 WASHINGTON DC FIRE CHIEF RESIGNS OVER BUDGET BATTLE Washington, DC - D.C. Fire Chief Rayfield Alfred, a thirty- year veteran of the capitol's fire department, is said to be retiring soon. According to a spokesperson for the Chief, Alfred was retiring voluntarily. He was quoted by the Associated Press (AP) as saying he was leaving "to make room for someone else . . . I have not in any way been forced to leave". Department insiders say that Alfred had been being pressured to leave by Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, who reportedly wanted to put her "own team" in place before an upcoming reelection campaign. The D.C. Firefighter's Association, which provides union representation to the capitol's firefighters and paramedics, said that Alfred had been "extremely upset" in recent months, due to anticipated budget cuts within the department. According to union spokesperson Tom Tippett, Mayor Kelly's revised budget for fire and EMS services would have cut the department budget from $92.6 million dollars to $86.4 million dollars in the coming year. Worse yet, according to Tippett, was the mayor's budget for 1994, which calls for a further reduction to $74 million dollars. Tippett said that Alfred couldn't, in good conscience, support such drastic cuts in his department. Experienced emergency analysts say that they agree with Chief Alfred that the already beleaguered agency will be hard- pressed to meet the fire and emergency medical service (EMS) needs of the District with the reduced resources that are outlined in Mayor Kelly's budget proposal. They point out that a drastic reorganization with be necessary, which will have to give greater emphasis to emergency ambulance services. Reportedly, as much as 70% of the department's calls are for emergency medical responses. Experts fear that budget restrictions will prevent the necessary allocation of money to make the transition. (c) EmergencyNet NEWS Service Emergency Response & Research Institute 5656 N. Moody St., Chicago, IL 60646 (312) 631-1101 - Voice/Messages (312) 631-4703 - Fax (312) 631-3467 - Computer/Modem-EMERGENCY BBS-2400bps-24hrs. (312) 631-3950 - " " " 9600bps "