Paramedics

In 1975, Newport Beach, along with most other cities in the nation, didn't have paramedics. A study had shown that people were dying on the streets who would have survived on a battlefield in Vietnam. Firefighters had first aid training, but that could only go so far. "Fill 'em full of air and ship 'em out — that was the saying," recalled retired Deputy Chief Tom Arnold, one of eight members of the city's first class of paramedics. "We were the first ones to get that advanced level of care we have today.

This letter is to let the community know what a professional, competent and friendly group of folks who work as first responders. I had to be rushed to the hospital about two weeks ago. I was in terrible pain and alone. I dialed 9-1-1, and these folks rolled in. Within minutes they picked me up from my front yard, where I had passed out, revived me, got me to the hospital and, in my opinion, perhaps saved me. If that weren't enough, several days passed and the same folks in the Fire Department truck came rolling by the house.

Four people were hurt when a Newport Beach paramedic truck taking a patient to the hospital collided with a car in a busy intersection at rush-hour Tuesday, officials said. Police said the driver of the car, a Newport Beach woman in a Mercedes, did not yield to the ambulance, which was rushing through the intersection with lights and sirens. The two paramedics in the truck, one driving and one in back with the patient, were taken to Hoag Hospital and released after being treated for complaints of pain, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Bill Hartford said.

Three people were injured, one seriously, when a decorative column fell over Friday at the Orange County Fairgrounds, authorities said. Costa Mesa firefighters received a call at 12:07 p.m. that the 4-foot wide, 15-foot tall structure fell near Gate 4 near where the Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival was taking place, according to Capt. Tim Vasin. Vasin said he believes the structure was part of the festival. Bystanders lifted the column, freeing the trapped person, before firefighters arrived.

-- Deepa Bharath An infant girl was in critical condition late Friday after she almost drowned in a pool at a home in Cameo Shores, officials said. Newport Beach firefighters and paramedics responded to the call about 3 p.m., Capt. John Blauer said. He said when they arrived at the scene, the child's mother was giving the 1-year-old girl CPR. The baby was in complete arrest as paramedics took her to Hoag Hospital, Blauer said. "She was not breathing, and she did not have a pulse," he said.

Costa Mesa police are investigating a crash that occurred when a bicyclist was broadsided by a car entering an intersection Sunday night, police said. At 11:40 p.m., the bicyclist, heading east on Sunflower Avenue, crossed into the intersection at Bristol Street when a Nissan hit him, police said. The bicyclist was not wearing a helmet and police believe he ran a red light before he collided with the car. Investigators have identified the bicyclist even though he had no identification on him at the time of the crash and was not conscious when paramedics took him to the hospital.

A 46-year-old Anaheim man drowned Sunday evening after being caught in a rip current at Newport Beach, officials said. Lifeguards at the 28th Street beach responded to reports of swimmers in distress at 6:10 p.m., said Lifeguard Captain Eric Bauer. By the time lifeguards responded, one male swimmer had struggled to shore, but a man and a woman remained caught in the rip current, Bauer said. As a bystander assisted the woman to the beach, a pair of lifeguards swam to the Anaheim man, who was facedown in the water.

There are precious few fields in which I consider myself an expert to the extent that I can offer advice. One of the few fields on which I can offer advice is that of the paramedics -- particularly the difference between paramedics in Newport Beach and those from Santa Ana. I have had experience with both and can advise my readers, though few they may be, that from a fiscal standpoint, Newport Beach is preferred. In Newport Beach, when a 911 call brought the paramedics, who then took my wife to the hospital, I was charged $600.

Newport Beach paramedics are replacing their fleet of smaller van ambulances with more spacious units capable of storing more equipment, holding more paramedics and, most importantly, providing better care for critical patients. The new trucks are known as "modulance" units, for "modular ambulance" -- "mod" for short. After testing out a prototype for more than a year, an improved version of the ambulance is set to hit the streets this week, fire department officials said.

Three people were injured, one seriously, when a decorative column fell over Friday at the Orange County Fairgrounds, authorities said. Costa Mesa firefighters received a call at 12:07 p.m. that the 4-foot wide, 15-foot tall structure fell near Gate 4 near where the Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival was taking place, according to Capt. Tim Vasin. Vasin said he believes the structure was part of the festival. Bystanders lifted the column, freeing the trapped person, before firefighters arrived.

A weekend fire at a Costa Mesa apartment complex injured a bystander and displaced two residents, authorities said Monday. The fire was reported in the 1300 block of Adams Avenue about 2 p.m. Saturday. When city firefighters arrived, they spotted smoke billowing from a second-story window. Firefighters ventilated the room, which restricted the fire from spreading to other parts of the unit, officials said. A man burned his feet while trying to extinguish the fire; paramedics treated him at the scene and transported him to a local hospital.

Newport Beach firefighters arrived at an apartment building on Amigos Way about 4:30 p.m. Thursday to discover a reported fire was already extinguished, according to a news release. Paramedics treated one person who was then transported to Hoag Hospital. Firefighters checked to make sure the fire had not spread through the walls to neighboring apartments. The fire is under investigation, but appears to have started as a result of plumbing work. Damage is estimated at about $10,000.

A 68-year-old Costa Mesa man died Thursday after apparently jumping from a six-story parking structure near the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The body of Richard French was found about 11:19 a.m. in some bushes alongside the Park Center Parking Structure, near Town Center and Park Center drives, police and county coroner officials said. Paramedics performed CPR on French for about 15 minutes after pulling him from the bushes, said Costa Mesa police Sgt. Vic Bakkila. French's car was parked atop the structure.

A 37-year-old man who collapsed and died near the finish line of the Los Angeles Rock 'n' Roll half-marathon was identified Monday as Charles Whitmore Riske of Costa Mesa. He died about two hours into the event as he kicked into the final stretch of the race in downtown L.A., officials said. The runner had previously been identified as being 40 years old, but L.A. County Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter said Riske was 37. His cause of death had not been determined. Paramedics attempted CPR before Riske was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:10 a.m., Winter said.

This letter is to let the community know what a professional, competent and friendly group of folks who work as first responders. I had to be rushed to the hospital about two weeks ago. I was in terrible pain and alone. I dialed 9-1-1, and these folks rolled in. Within minutes they picked me up from my front yard, where I had passed out, revived me, got me to the hospital and, in my opinion, perhaps saved me. If that weren't enough, several days passed and the same folks in the Fire Department truck came rolling by the house.

In 1975, Newport Beach, along with most other cities in the nation, didn't have paramedics. A study had shown that people were dying on the streets who would have survived on a battlefield in Vietnam. Firefighters had first aid training, but that could only go so far. "Fill 'em full of air and ship 'em out — that was the saying," recalled retired Deputy Chief Tom Arnold, one of eight members of the city's first class of paramedics. "We were the first ones to get that advanced level of care we have today.

A mother who accused Costa Mesa police and paramedics of negligence when they arrested her son on suspicion of DUI, when he actually was suffering a fatal brain aneurysm, has dropped her lawsuit against the city. Dolores Foley, mother of Richard Donald Kurtz, earlier this month filed a motion to dismiss her wrongful-death lawsuit against Costa Mesa, court documents show. Kurtz died Sept. 4, 2007, in Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. Three days earlier he had been arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of drugs by Costa Mesa police after a person reported seeing Kurtz driving erratically, according to the lawsuit.

The sight and sound could easily make you cringe. A paramedic grabs your leg at the calf, holding up your thin-skinned shin, and pulls out a 15-gauge syringe, the same size as the ones used for IVs. After gently pushing through your skin, the needle bumps into your tibia, the bone, and that’s when he begins to drill. The high-pitched noise might ring in your ear like it does at the dentist , as the needle burrows through your bone. And suddenly, it’s through and into the bone marrow.

If it had been any other night, he’d probably be dead. If he had decided to join another team, he could be dead. If even one thing had been different about Tuesday, he might not be here for his wife and kids. But like friend Craig Covey said, “The moons, planets and the stars, everything was in alignment.” It’s one of those stories you just can’t make up. Tuesday night, Covey, an Orange County Fire Authority captain, was playing basketball with his team in a recreation league at the West Newport Gym off 15th Street near Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.