I always thought OnStar walked a fine line in their radio commercials when it comes to their first responder interaction.
On one hand their service provides motorists the opportunity of having an intermediary act on their behalf in an emergency.
An OnStar advisor, in an MVA for example, is automatically alerted as soon as air bags are deployed. Using GPS, the advisor is able to pinpoint the exact location of the accident and relay the information to a 911 dispatcher. This can save precious minutes in response time, especially when those involved in an accident do not know their exact location, or their injuries are so severe they cannot respond, do not have a cell phone or cannot call on a phone.
On the other hand, and this is where I object, their commercials make their advisors look like EMT’s, police experts and firefighters all rolled into one.
One of the rudimentary things we first learn in the volunteer fire service is to start your size up the moment your pager tones you out. Draw a mental image of where the call is, what type of building and its construction, what equipment will be needed etc. Another early lesson is to do size up virtually all the time, when you are driving through your neighborhood, when you enter a business, when you visit you kid’s school. This could prepare you for future alarms to these areas.
Pittsburgh EMS has been thrown into a controversy after a Hazelwood man died February 7th who had called EMS 10 times over a two day period seeking help for a stomach ailment. It is a terrible tragedy to be sure. From a Public Information standpoint, the Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Michael Huss and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl have been blunt with their reactions to the episode. It remains to be seen what happens over the next several days but initial reaction has fulfilled some of the main tenets of The Fire PIO’s 7 primary responses to a crisis.
