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On Thursday, August 31st at
the 17th annual EMS appreciation day to be held at Rye Playland,
Westchester EMS employees Don Cottle, Hamlet Cuello, Chris Deierlein,
Jeffery Ferrara, Kevin McGurk, and Alex Woo will receive awards for
lives saved.
Supervisor/Paramedic Don Cottle will receive the EMS Citation for
assisting in the care of a patient who had been sucessfully revived
from cardiac arrest. The patient, who collapsed in a local Italian
restaurant in Somers, was given CPR by nurses from Northern Westchester
hospital who happened to be in the establishment at the time. A
responding police officer from Somers utilized an AED and successfully
revived the patient. Paramedic Cottle stabilized the patient and
transported them to Putnam Hospital where they were later released.
Paramedic Alex Woo responded to a call in Goldens Bridge for a patient
with Chest Pains. The patient later destabilized into Cardiac Arrest
and was successfully recusitated and transported in stable condition to
Northern Westchester hospital. The patient was later transported to
Westchester Medical Center and is reported to be doing well.
Paramedics Hamlet Cuello and Chris Deierlein along with Dispatcher/EMT
Kevin McGurk (who was riding with Somers Fire/EMS at the time)
responded to a car accident in the town of Somers. They found an 8 year
old victim in traumatic arrest with CPR in progress by a nurse from
Hudson Valley hospital. During transport to Putnam Hospital the patient
was successfully revived and later transferred to Westchester Medical
Center where she was treated and later released and reported to have
fully recovered.
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Congratulations go to
Westchester EMS paramedic Jeffery Anderson who was recently awarded the
Community of Heros award by the American Red Cross for his part in a
recent emergency response. Good job Jeff!
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On Wednesday, July 12th,
2006, a rare tornado swept across Westchester County causing damage in
Sleepy Hollow, Hawthorne, Valhalla and Armonk. Westchester EMS EMTs
Nick Colello and Barret Brown on Bravo5 were nearly struck by flying
debris as they were driving on the Sprain Brook Parkway. They notified
WEMS Central Communications of possible injuries and went to work
helping where they could. Alpha8 crew Rob Monetta and Paul Morer
responded to the area to assist as well. Both WEMS crews became an
integral part of EMS operations in the area, in particular at the
building collapse at California Closets on Route 9A in Hawthorne. Good
job by all involved!
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The summer of 2006 saw the
addition of two (2) additional Ford Expedition "flycar" first response
vehicles outfitted by Specialty Warning Systems of Danbury,
Connecticut. These vehicles are equipped with Whelen
sirens, LED and strobe lights, Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking
and navigation, and Motorola
and Kenwood radio systems. These vehicles are virtually identical to
the two we added to our fleet in November, 2004. Designated 4016
through 4019, they replace our older vehicles 4011, 4012, and 4013
which have recently been retired. Vehicle 4010 continues service as
45Medic1. Vehicle 4015 has been designated as a supervisor vehicle.
We also added a new ambulance to our fleet, designated 4031. A Type-I
van ambulance from American Emergency Vehicles (AEV) is has been
dedicated as a 24-hour ALS transport/response vehicle equipped with
both GPS and communications capability with both county fire control
and local ambulance corps.
We anticpate delivery of our first modular dedicated ALS ambulance in the late fall.
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On September 20, 2004, Westchester EMS responded along with Katonah
Bedford Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Bedford Hills Fire
Department to an accident involving a Metro North Railroad train and a
car carrier at the Green Lane railroad crossing. More than 20 patients
required treatment for mostly minor injuries. WEMS ambulance crews and
paramedics assisted with triage, treatment and transport of patients to
local hospitals. Ambulances responded from as far away as Ossining and
patients were transported to Northern Westchester, Putnam, Hudson
Valley and Westchester Medical Center hospitals.
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On April 2, 2004, Westchester EMS took delivery of four brand new AEV
Traumahawk Type-II ambulances. This brings the size of our ambulance
fleet to nine. To keep pace with continued growth, all four ambulances
will be on the road on April 12th and positioned strategically around
Westchester County to best serve our patients, facilities, and crew
members.
 Westchester EMS was recently
honored at the Red
Cross "A Community of Heros" Breakfast, held on March 31, 2004 at the
Rye Town Hilton. The event honored those individuals who have shown
courage, kindness, and unselfish character in the face of adversity.
Westchester EMS was one of several entities honored for truly enhancing
the quality of life for Westchester County residents.
 Westchester
EMS is proud
to announce that WEMS EMTs Peggy Mulleady and
Brian Plunkett have been awarded EMT of the Year for 2003. Peggy and
Brian
received the award at the 30th Annual Westchester County EMS Council
Awards
Dinner for actions performed in the line of duty that resulted in the
rescue of multiple patients from a potentially deadly nursing home
fire. ( See Story Below)
Congratulations Brian and Peggy on a job well done!
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 On Tuesday, March 11th, 2003 at
8:38am, Bedford Fire and EMS along with Westchester EMS 45Medic1 were
dispatched to a personal injury motor vehicle accident involving an
overturned propane truck at Route 172 (Pound Ridge Road) and Grove Road
in Bedford Village. Upon arrival the Propane truck was found on it's
side with live wires in contact with the vehicle. Two occupants of the
truck had self extricated from the vehicle and were assisted from the
scene to safety by local residents. 
NYSEG was summoned to the scene to shut off power
and secure the downed power line. 45Medic4 and 4513 (Supervisor)
responded to the scene to assist with patient care and EMS command.
Bedford Fire Department was assisted during a prolonged operation by
Banksville, Bedford Hills, Pound Ridge, Long Ridge (CT), Mount Kisco,
and Katonah Fire Departments along with Bedford and New York State
police. Due to the possible dangers of a fully loaded Propane truck,
the
area around the scene was evacuated, including a local elementary and
two nursery schools. Westchester County HAZMAT and Department of
Emergency Services, along with State DEP, NYC DEP, State DOH and DOT
were called to the scene. 
Tow companies utilized a special "high lift" air bag
system along with safety harnesses to upright the truck. Upon
inspection
the vehicle was found to be intact and free of residual leaks, and was
towed to a nearby impound yard for processing. Bedford Fire/EMS and
Katonah/Bedford VAC provided BLS coverage for the scene with ALS
available from 45Medics 1 and 4. The incident closed the area to
traffic
for close to 8 hours.
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 On January
29th, 2003 at approximately
7:15pm, Emergency Medical
Technicians Brian Plunkett and Peggy Mulleady of Westchester EMS were
called to transport a resident of a local Nursing Home. While preparing
to transport the patient, Peggy and
Brian noticed smoke crawling from beneath the door of a nearby room.
Upon investigation they found fire emanating from a wall outlet that
had
fully engulfed a privacy curtain and was quickly spreading to the
ceiling. Acting quickly, Ms. Mulleady alerted the facility staff and
rescued four patients from the involved room. Mr. Plunkett, who is also
a trained firefighter and active with the Katonah Fire Department,
located the nearest fire extinguisher, put out the fire, ventilated the
room, and proceeded to rip open the wall looking for extension.
Brian and Peggy assisted the staff with triage of
the four patients from the room, two of whom were on supplemental
oxygen. Two patients required transport to nearby hospitals for
treatment of unspecified injuries. Briarcliff Fire Department responded
with apparatus as well as two ambulances for patient transport.
Ossining
VAC responded with a paramedic flycar and one mutual aid ambulance.
Mr. Plunkett and Ms. Mulleady were commended by both
Westchester EMS and the Administration of the nursing home. We are very
proud of them both!
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On
Thursday, January 23rd, 2003, more than a dozen elderly people at the
Cambridge House Retirement Center in Ossining became stricken with a
"mystery illness" that was later determined to be viral in nature. The
first symptoms began the night before with some residents complaining
of
diarrhea and nausea. On Thursday, Ossining VAC (OVAC) was called to the
center to take a patient to the hospital. On arrival it was determined
that multiple patients had similar problems, with several patients
being
dangerously dehydrated. The mutual aide system was activated and
ambulances from throughout the area were called in to transport
patients
to area hospitals. Responding ambulances included OVAC, Croton FD,
Cortlandt Community VAC, Peekskill EMS, Mohegan VAC, Yorktown VAC,
Tarrytown VAC, Sleepy Hollow VAC, Irvington VAC, Briarcliff FD, Somers
FD, and Katonah Bedford VAC. Westchester EMS provided a Paramedic
flycar
and BLS ambulance to cover 911 calls in Ossining until OVAC
completed operations in the late afternoon, and sent two BLS ambulances
to the scene for patient treatment and transport.
Journal
News Article
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In the aftermath of a major NorEaster snow storm that dumped almost a
foot of sleet and snow on the area, Westchester EMS responded with
local
fire and ambulance agencies to several car accidents on Interstate 684.
The biggest accident involved almost 20 vehicles including a tractor
trailer which spilled more than 40 gallons of diesel fuel, and a
Volkswagen Jetta which had burst into flames after impact. Fortunately,
all accidents resulted in only minor injures with most of the involved
occupants refusing treatment by emergency crews. Westchester EMS
45Medic1 and 3 were assisted by Supervisors 4511, 4512, and 4513.
Bedford, Armonk, Katonah-Bedford, and Harrison provided ambulances to
the scenes, with Bedford, Armonk and Katonah providing fire
suppression,
spill response and extrication assistance. See the included links for
more information. [ Photo from
News12]
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If you
know of a news item that would be of interest to EMS/Rescue providers
in
Westchester county, please let us know. Email us at webmaster@westchesterems.org.
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