Peoria is Being Tricked

The Journal Star had a short article in the local section yesterday (October 7, 2007):

Stabbing Victim Who Went to Fire Department Stable

Peoria—Police continued their search for a suspect who stabbed a man Friday night in the 500 block of Northeast Monroe Street.

Citing an ongoing investigation, detectives declined to identify the victim—-a man in his mid-40’s—-but said he was in stable condition Saturday.

Police learned of the attack after the man, stabbed multiple times in the chest, arrived about 7:10 pm. Friday at the Fire Department’s headquarters, 505 NE Monroe Ave., just as a truck was returning from an emergency call. Still conscious and talking, the victim was taken by ambulance to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.

My comments:

After reading this article, the typical reader would believe that the man was transported to OSF by a Peoria Fire Department (PFD) ambulance. I would have believed this just a few years ago.

What is not reported here is that the PFD does not have an ambulance and is not allowed to transport patients in their trucks. Rapid transport is critical to saving lives for trauma victims.

(A few years ago, the PFD did purchase an ambulance, but were not allowed to equip it adequately and were not allowed to transport patients. So they sold it even though I offered to buy it from them and donate it back to the PFD for their use. Money and politics in Peoria did not allow this to happen.)

Also, even though the PFD has paramedics and intermediate medics on their staff who are also firefighters, these individuals are not allowed to use their advanced skills unless asked to do so by Advanced Medical Transport (AMT).

Most likely the man that was stabbed multiple times in the chest thought that the PFD could do more for him than just call 911 for AMT to treat and transport him to OSF.

The Chicago Marathon during this past weekend put the Chicago EMS and Chicago-land emergency department patients in jeopardy for multiple reasons. Just think what would happen in Peoria during a mass casualty when the PFD is kept at such basic status. The PFD cannot routinely give advanced life support or transport patients. They do not even own an ambulance.

Unfortunately, Peoria’s general public is being dangerously tricked by the powers that be.