‘Give emergency vehicles space’: Pinantan Lake-area first responders say after tailgating incident

“BCEHS has asked that people please respect and give emergency vehicles space to do their jobs. Lights and sirens don’t necessarily mean they will drive faster. It means they have a sick patient in need of immediate care.”

The Pinantan First Responders say paramedics in an ambulance often provide emergency medical care to a patient while they’re en route to a hospital. That includes monitoring their vital signs, administering medications, and procedures like starting IVs or intubation, if needed.

“While paramedics can provide life-saving care, they are not able to fix every problem at the scene,” the post added. “The primary goal is to stabilize the patient and get them to the hospital for further treatment.”

“The driver is instructed to drive smoothly to minimize jostling and allow the paramedics to continue providing care during transport. Paramedics also prioritize their own safety and that of their crew during the emergency response.”

While BCEHS wasn’t able to confirm the information about this particular incident as their records are focused on patient care, they do say instances where ambulances are blocked or tailgated happen “all too often.”

BCEHS Paramedic Public Information Officer Brian Twaites says incidents like this lead to added stress for paramedics and sometimes for patients.

“When someone is following you quite closely, there is the possibility that there could be an accident,” he said. “Considering that paramedics are providing emergency medical care while en route to the hospital, they’re busy int he back doing things so they really have to concentrate on that.”

Twaites says in B.C., drivers are required by law to pull over and yield to any emergency vehicle with lights and sirens on. That includes BCEHS ambulances and response vehicles, police vehicles and fire trucks.

“If you’re on an undivided or two-way road or highway, you need to pull over to the closest curb and stop. That also includes cyclists and pedestrians as everybody needs to stop for the emergency vehicles so they can get by,” Twaites said.

“We don’t want you to every block the route of an emergency vehicle or stop in the middle of an intersection because that emergency vehicle may need to turn down that street you’re blocking.”

– With files from Dylana Kneeshaw/CFJC Today

by Victor Kaisar

‘Give emergency vehicles space’: Pinantan Lake-area first responders say after tailgating incident

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