Location
Cross-Niko Niko slot machine parlor, first floor of the six-story Kojima Kensetsu building, in the Konohana Ward of Osaka.

Fire progress
400 square meters of the first floor, extinguished within 20 minutes.

Origin
Approximately 30 year-old suspect with kerosene ignited the fire.

Personnel and units on scene
51 apparatus and 1 helicopter, as well as a ladder unit that rescued 2 from the roof.

Photos courtesy of Sankei Shimbun and Sankei Digital.

Happy Fourth of July from the editors at Firefighter-EMT.com!

A rapidly moving fire in a London high-rise apartment complex has killed six people, including three children. The London Fire brigade are credited for having rescued 30 people from the burning building, with fifteen being taken to area hospitals.

Location
Lakanal Flats, high-rise building with 12 total floors, in Camberwell, south-east London.

Fire progress
The fire started on the fourth floor of the building at approximately 4:30pm and spread to the 11th floor. Investigators hypothesize that the fire actually started on the ninth floor.

Origin
Unknown but ’suspicious’, according to Southwark Chief Superintendent Wayne Chance. The fire was likely to have spread quite rapidly because of a heat wave meant people had their windows open.

Personnel and units on scene
Approximately 100 firefighters from the London Fire Brigade. 16 ambulances were also on scene.

The death of pop icon Michael Jackson has led to unexpected criticism of China’s emergency medical system.

Netizens praised the American 911 dispatcher who handled the Jackson emergency call and criticized differences between the Chinese and American emergency services on popular Internet portals Sohu.com and Sina.com, as well as on provincial level websites like Hainan-based club.kdnet.net.

“China’s emergency medical service is not as careful as its American counterpart,” Zhang Han, a Beijing blogger, wrote on his blog on Sina.com.

“The Chinese emergency medical sector should learn from the American emergency medical experience to better serve its citizens.”

In a transcript released of the 911 call, the cool-headed operator asks Jackson’s age, address and condition and then instructs the caller to put the singer on the floor and pump his chest.

“From their conversation, I can see American medical staffs’ devoted attitude to the job and their expertise,” a netizen tagged Xiaohe1120 said on club.kdnet.net.

Zhang Weihong, from central Shanxi province, said that she was dissatisfied with the emergency 120 service (China’s 911 system) after calling an ambulance for her husband when he collapsed suddenly a few weeks ago.

The ambulance came 10 minutes later but only a driver and a doctor were on board. She was forced to ask neighbors to help carry the stretcher to the ambulance.

“I hope the government can improve emergency medical service in the future,” she said.

Article by chinadaily.cn.

A water carrier was used, and pumping was apparently required from nearby water sources. 44 firefighters wore breathing apparatus for an offensive attack that successfully prevented the fire from spreading to the main building.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, with arson apparently not been ruled out as a possibility.

“The city rejected the test results solely because the higher scoring candidates were white,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority, adding that the possibility of a lawsuit from minority firefighters was not a lawful justification for the city’s action.

Frank Ricci, left, lead plaintiff in the the “New Haven 20″ firefighter reverse discrimination case speaks to the media outside of Federal Court in New Haven, Conn., Monday June 29, 2009.

“Fear of litigation alone,” Justice Kennedy wrote, “cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions.”

The 5-to-4 ruling, which reversed an appeals court decision joined by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, now a Supreme Court nominee, will have broad impact, lawyers specializing in employment discrimination law said.

As of this hour nine individuals have been killed and more than 70 injured in a collision between two Washington Metro trains during the afternoon rush hour. This is likely to be the worst disaster in WMATA history. The crash occurred at 5pm on the red line between Takoma Park and Fort Totten stations on an overground stretch of the track. One train rear-ended another.

More details will be reported on soon.

Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Bill O’leary-The Washington Post

The primary response to this scene appears to be the District of Columbia Fire Department. According to DC Fire Chief Dennis Rubin, two DC firefighters were injured during the incident.

State and federal health care officials are investigating Mercy Medical Center in Redding for possible violations of a national anti-patient-dumping law.

“We authorized an inspection at the hospital under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act,” said Jack Cheevers, a San Francisco-based spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). “It’s basically an anti-patient-dumping law.”

Patient dumping was ruled illegal by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986, whereby for-profit hospitals would not be allowed to release patients to public hospitals simply because they couldn’t pay. For-profit hospitals are required to screen and stabilize patients before transferring care. When patient dumping does occur, as may be the case with Mercy Medical Center, this is often due to a lack of sufficient resources to handle an increase in emergency room visits, promulgated by the closure of nearby hospitals or due to new insurance policy procedures.

There are several underlying issues that highlight the dire case where patient dumping occurs:

1) Hospitals cannot provide care. The medical infrastructure is unable to support an increase in patient number, or because of draconian insurance policies that force those who are insured to decide which hospital to go to depending on how they are covered.

2) Patients cannot pay. The business nature of medical care detracts from access to adequate healthcare as a right and instead makes it an option available only for those who can afford it.

3) Patients become entities. Because patients either can or cannot pay, they become commodities rather than human beings in need of care. Hence if they cannot pay, they need to resort to stemming any financial loss and dumping them, regardless of ethical or moral responsibility.

As emergency medical professionals, sometimes we are put into the position of suggesting hospital care that is against the patient’s wishes, simply because of medical command or resources (such as trauma) that require a higher-level center. What can be helpful is putting that issue into perspective when charging for medical transportation - some areas provide ambulatory transportation at no cost.

Have you dealt with patient dumping issues?

In the video below, Anderson Cooper’s 360 show on CNN investigates patient dumping on Skid Row, in Los Angeles, California.

The Netherlands - University Medical Center Groningen’s (UMCG) emergency medical helicopter. Apparently it flies over 800 flights a year.

Photo used with permission from Gerald Emming.

A firefighter from Company 29, from Albuquerque, NM, waits for water for the initial attack. They fought a structure fire near Edith Boulevard and Osuna Road NE with support from Engine 19. Apparently the buildings were often used to shoot films. No one was injured.

Photo property of and used with permission from night867.