EMERGENCY

DISPATCHES

Broadcasts about these fire and ambulance calls were monitored this past week by the newspaper:

JAN. 18

8:24 a.m. — An 84-year-old woman identified by code words as being a COVID-19 patient was taken by Marion ambulance from the 300 block of S. Lincoln St. in Marion to St. Luke Hospital.

3:47 p.m. — Marion firefighters investigated a report from electric workers of a possible electrical fire in the 500 block of Locust St. in Marion.

5:49 p.m. — A patient needing a computed tomography scan and identified by code words as having COVID-19 was transferred by Hillsboro ambulance from Hillsboro Community Hospital to St. Luke Hospital and back again. The ambulance returned to its station at 7:26 p.m.

JAN. 19

2:37 a.m. — A 65-year-old man having trouble breathing at Oakwood Apartments in Hillsboro was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance.

The ambulance then dealt with a second potential patient from a nearby apartment, but that patient declined to be taken to a hospital.

9:25 a.m. — After an inconclusive investigation the day before, Marion firefighters returned to the 500 block of Locust St. in Marion and determined that smoke was coming from a water heater, which they disconnected.

11:22 a.m. — An HCH patient was transferred to Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, by Hillsboro ambulance.

3:46 p.m. — A pulmonary embolism patient was transferred from HCH to McPherson Center for Health.

5:19 p.m. — While still in McPherson, Hillsboro ambulance was told to return to HCH to transfer a possible anemia patient to Wesley. The ambulance was back at its quarters at 8:27 p.m.

THURSDAY

10:32 a.m. — An 82-year-old man too weak to get out of bed in the 600 block of Santa Fe St. in Durham was taken to HCH by Tampa ambulance. Durham firefighters helped lift the patient.

FRIDAY

8:50 a.m. — A elderly Birchwood Apartments resident with chest pains was taken to Newton Medical Center by Hillsboro ambulance.

4:16 p.m. — A 56-year-old woman with a tracheotomy and low oxygen levels and complaining of diarrhea at a residence west of Lost Springs on 340th Rd. declined to be taken to a hospital by Tampa ambulance.

An ambulance shift supervisor based in Marion arrived 17 minutes after the call went out. The ambulance arrived seven minutes after that. Lincolnville first responders also were paged but announced that none were available.

5:51 p.m. — A previously unreported grass fire south of 40th Rd. between Upland and Vista Rds. was investigated by Peabody firefighters.

8 p.m. — An 84-year-old man who fell in a bathroom at a residence on US-56 just north of Marion was taken to St. Luke by Marion ambulance.

SATURDAY

2:46 a.m. — An 80-year-old man having chest pains in the 400 block of Floral Dr. in Hillsboro was taken by Hillsboro ambulance to Wesley after the ambulance was diverted from Newton Med.

7:31 a.m. — A medical alarm activated by a 66-year-old woman who fell a home near K-15 and 300th Rd. and hurt her back was taken to HCH by Tampa ambulance. Durham first responders did not answer a page.

11:18 a.m. — A possible stroke victim lying on the floor of a residence near Sunflower and 280th Rds. was deemed to be in life-threatening condition and taken by Marion ambulance to Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, Wichita.

Attendants asked for a sheriff’s deputy to visit the residence and check on the welfare of a second person there. Nearly two hours later, the deputy sent to the residence asked for a second ambulance to check the other person. Tampa ambulance took the patient to St. Luke.

12:17 p.m. — A 75-year-old woman with chest pains was taken by Peabody ambulance from Peabody Health and Rehab to Newton Med after attendants asked whether Newton Med was accepting patients.

1:28 p.m. — A 55-year-old woman in pain at Salem Homes, Hillsboro, was taken to Newton Med by Hillsboro ambulance.

6:30 p.m. — A 48-year-old woman with rectal and vaginal bleeding was taken to St. Luke from the 200 block of W. 6th St. in Florence by Marion ambulance, which asked that a deputy sheriff also be dispatched. First responders from Florence were paged but did not answer.

7:09 p.m. — An unconscious 27-year-old man who suffered a seizure at Homestead Senior Residences, Marion, was taken to St. Luke by Hillsboro ambulance.

10:26 p.m. — As few as two and as many as seven people were injured in a five-vehicle accident at K-15 and 120th Rd. near Goessel.

Initial reports were that one declined to be taken to a hospital, three were regarded as stable, and three others were regarded as having serious injuries, but later transmissions listed only two injuries, one serious. In the end, only one patient was taken to a hospital — Wesley in Wichita, by Peabody ambulance.

Hillsboro, Peabody, Marion, and Moundridge ambulances, Goessel firefighters and first responders, Hillsboro rescue squad, and, for a time, a helicopter ambulance all were dispatched. Tampa ambulance was placed on standby in the center of the county.

Reports from the scene were sometimes confusing.

“We’ve got a lot of different families on the scene here and a lot of different accusations about what happened that caused this,” a sheriff’s deputy radioed to inbound rescuers. “So whenever you get here, we’ll probably have to work on some crowd control.”

Firefighters remained on the scene until 12:30 a.m.

11:39 p.m. — On its way back to its station, Marion ambulance picked up a 90-year-old woman with unspecified symptoms at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro and took her to HCH.

SUNDAY

1:48 a.m. — A LifeSafe helicopter transported a patient from St. Luke in Marion to St. Luke’s in Kansas City.

5:23 a.m. — Hillsboro ambulance was requested at a residence in the 200 block of S. Ash St. in Hillsboro after a neighbor reported that a garage appeared to have been damaged and a vehicle driven across a lawn. The ambulance took a patient from that address to HCH. A Hillsboro officer and a sheriff’s deputy remained in the area to search for additional damage.

8:24 a.m. — An 84-year-old woman with labored breathing was transferred from Salem Homes to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance.

5:32 p.m. — A 72-year-old man with chest and stomach pains, kidney failure, and running a fever at Eastshore subdivision adjacent to Marion Reservoir was taken to Wesley by Marion ambulance.

6:40 p.m. — A 79-year-old woman who fell and hurt her hip and leg at a home in the 100 block of E. 9th St. in Florence declined to be taken to a hospital by Hillsboro ambulance.

6:45 p.m. — The same 56-year-old woman with a tracheotomy who declined to be taken to a hospital Friday afternoon from a residence west of Lost Springs on 340th Rd. again complained of labored breathing and was taken to Herington Hospital by Tampa ambulance.

A Lincolnville first responder arrived in her own vehicle less than five minutes after the call. A firefighter brought medical equipment to her from Lincolnville. Tampa ambulance arrived 15 minutes later.

8:41 a.m. — Marion, Hillsboro, and Tampa ambulances had been back in their service areas for less than 15 minutes when Marion ambulance was dispatched for a 43-year-old man with a cut on his wrist. He was taken to St. Luke from a semitrailer truck just north of the US-50/77 roundabout in Florence. Florence first responders were paged but did not answer.

MONDAY

8:21 a.m. — A 92-year-old woman, only partially alert and unable to get out bed after falling on Sunday, was taken by Marion ambulance to Newton Med from the 100 block of E. 9th St. in Florence.

11:48 a.m. — A dazed man hit by a bull while loading a trailer at Spur Ridge Vet Hospital in Marion was taken to St. Luke by Marion ambulance.

5:06 p.m. — Marion ambulance transported a patient to Newton Med, but details of the call were garbled.

8:46 p.m. — An unconscious woman who suffered multiple seizures at a farmhouse near 250th and Falcon Rds. was taken to HCH by Hillsboro ambulance. A first responder from Lehigh helped with the call.