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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Ambulance waited for police
Paramedics followed rules
PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Enlarge Image
Stephanie Krasnesky says the ambulance was too far away for her father Garth Isfeld.
He was hit on the head with a beer bottle, walked to an ambulance, then later died in hospital.
Garth Isfeld's family says they are unhappy with how he was treated, but a top Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) official said employees handled the case correctly.
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WFPS assistant Chief of Operations Christian Schmidt said Monday an ambulance crew had to sit about four blocks from the house where the man awaited help because a 911 call indicated gunshots had been fired. In potentially dangerous situations, paramedics and fire officials must wait nearby until police ensure the scene is safe, he said.
He said paramedics did the right thing by not entering a potentially dangerous situation without police clearance.
"Our staff are not police officers. They do not carry equipment with them for self-defence," he said.
Isfeld, 44, died in hospital on the weekend after he got into a fight with a party crasher at a Stuart Avenue birthday party, witnesses said. Emergency personnel were near Stuart Avenue within 10 minutes of the call, Schmidt said.
Once police gave the all-clear, about five minutes after the ambulance arrived, the route was blocked by a police car and fire department vehicle which had to be moved. When the ambulance reached Pentland Street at Stuart Avenue -- about 30 metres away from the house -- a police officer and Isfeld walked to the ambulance.
Family members of Isfeld said they thought it was wrong their father had to walk to the paramedics. Isfeld's daughter said there were eight to 10 police vehicles near the Stuart Avenue home and the ambulance could have come closer to meet him.
"They shouldn't have been that far... there was room. There was obviously room," said Stephanie Krasnesky, 18.
Relatives also said paramedics should have used a stretcher to carry Isfeld to the ambulance, and medical personnel did not rush him to hospital fast enough.
Schmidt said paramedics arrived at hospital at about 1:10 a.m., about 40 minutes after the 911 call and 25 minutes after paramedics initially encountered Isfeld.
Police arrested and charged 23-year-old Darren James Hall with manslaughter. Isfeld is the second homicide victim of the year in the city.
Police did not comment on the incident Monday on their handling of the incident.
gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 30, 2010 B2
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