Summit First Aid SquadPress Clipping |
Overlook Alarm Prompts Major First Aid Squad Response (appeared in Summit Observer 4/11/95)
On Tuesday evening, a report of a fire and heavy smoke condition at Overlook Hospital brought a response not only from the Summit Fire Department, but from 17 area first aid and rescue squads as well. At about 7:30 p.m the Summit Fire Department received a report of a fire alarm activation in the Hospital and made it's usual response of 2 engine companies and 1 ladder truck. Shortly after arriving on the scene, firefighters discovered a smoke condition that appeared to be caused by the hospitals incinerator. Battalion Chief John Mullen ordered a Signal 10; a request for the on-call paid firefighters and all volunteer firefighters to come in to Fire Headquarters. Upon discovering the smoke condition had affected at least 2 floors, a Signal 11; a recall of all paid and volunteer personnel was ordered.
Several minutes later, Summit's third and fourth engines responded while the Springfield Fire Dept. sent and engine to stand-by at Summit's fire house. Firefighter Rick Locke, who was driving Summit's 4th engine, discovered a woman down on the Morris Ave. side of the hospital and immediately requested the Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad. Summit firefighters, all of whom are now trained in first aid, began to treat the woman. The duty crew was in the Squad building, just 2 blocks away and arrived only a minute later. The woman, a hospital employee who had fallen on the sidewalk and sustained a head injury was quickly treated, stabilized and transported by ambulance to the Emergency Room.
Meanwhile, a decision was reached by hospital staff to activate "Operation Overlook", the hospitals internal disaster plan. Part of this plan calls for the establishment of a command post in the hospital auditorium and telephone contact with CENCOM, Overlooks' dispatch agency. Due to a telephone malfunction, CENCOM was unable to contact anyone in the command post and the dispatchers on duty assumed the worst. A call for "one ambulance from each town" was made over the county police radio and a mobilization call for "all Summit Squad members" transmitted.
The squad duty crew had now finished with it's first call, and moved to a parking lot on Broad Street where Crew Chief Paul Carro established a staging area. Off-duty members responded from home and brought the Summit Squad's 2nd and 3rd ambulances to the staging area where they were joined by 17 mutual aid ambulances from surrounding towns. Other organizations sending ambulances included the Berkeley Heights Rescue Squad, Callmen's Emergency Unit of Union, Clark Volunteer Emergency Squad, Kenilworth Fire Dept. Rescue Squad, Cranford First Aid Squad, Fanwood Rescue Squad, Garwood First Aid Squad, Kean College EMS, Mountainside Rescue Squad, Roselle Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Scotch Plains Rescue Squad, Springfield First Aid Squad, Watchung Rescue Squad, Westfield Rescue Squad, Union Volunteer EMS, and EMTAC, a paid ambulance service that covers Irvington. Two Mobile Intensive Care units from Union Hospital and 2 from Overlook also responded.
About 10 minutes after this large EMS group had assembled, it was learned that the fire was contained to the incinerator and the Fire Department had the smoke condition under control. Lt. John Staunton of the Summit First Aid Squad then ordered all additional ambulances that were enroute to Summit canceled and began to release those that had arrived.
Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad President Carl Ganger was among those who responded and expressed his organization's thanks to all the neighboring squads for their assistance. "It's nice to know that we can depend upon our neighbors if a real disaster does strike" said Mr. Ganger. Even though this was a "false alarm", most of those involved were pleased with the capability to assemble 20 ambulances in only 15 minutes.
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