An emergency response incident that occurred on January 2 has prompted the Springfield Township trustees to place the fire chief, assistant chief and two firefighter/ EMTs on leave.
In a January 23 letter released to residents, Administrator Mike Hampton explained what took place that morning.
“Residents deserve to know the facts about an incident that happened recently involving our Springfield Fire and EMS. Although patient privacy laws prohibit us from sharing some information, we’ve tried to include as much information as we are legally allowed,” he wrote.
He said the board first learned on January 22 about an incident that occurred on January 2 when a 911 caller reported an unresponsive person possibly suffering from a drug overdose.
Although the call came into Lucas County 911 for a Toledo address, Springfield Township EMS responded as part of a mutual aid agreement with Lucas County for EMS services.
EMS arrived at the home within four minutes, a faster than average response time, he said.
“When the paramedics arrived, they saw the patient lying unresponsive on a couch. Her skin had a blue/grayish appearance.
“Unfortunately, a large, aggressive pit bull dog was at the woman’s side, growling and unwilling to move.”
Police and paramedics requested assistance from the dog warden and made repeated unsuccessful attempts to lure the dog away with treats so medical treatment could begin, Mr. Hampton explained.
After more than 40 minutes, the dog warden arrived and secured the dog.
The paramedics observed that the patient was cold and stiff. They found no pulse, which led them to believe she was dead. Paramedics called the physician who supervises their medical work and talked through a number of steps to confirm this, before declaring the patient deceased.
“The coroner’s office and police investigators were called to the scene and paramedics left. When the coroner’s staff arrived and examined the body, they observed that the patient appeared to be trying to breathe. Those on scene gave multiple doses of Narcan and started CPR. A second EMS squad arrived and transported the patient to the hospital, where we believe she remains in intensive care. We hope and pray for her full recovery.”
Mr. Hampton described the incident as “tragic. It should not have happened. We’re sorry it did.”
He continued, “Our focus is on evaluating how this happened and determining what these paramedics should have done differently. We are also evaluating whether Springfield Fire Department leadership correctly handled the response to this incident and their obligation to report it to the trustees.
In response to the incident, the trustees:
•placed the two paramedics on administrative leave. While both of them are very experienced, we must review their actions and take appropriate measures.
•placed Springfield Fire Chief Barry Cousino and Assistant Chief David Moore on administrative leave. Although neither was present at the scene, the trustees want to review whether they followed policies and procedures and proper chains of command in the days following the incident.
•ordered an internal investigation into both the incident and the administrative response. The township’s legal counsel, assisted by any subject matter experts that might be required, will conduct the investigation.
•appointed Battalion Chief Jon Ziehr as acting fire chief. They also appointed Andrew Sauder as acting assistant fire chief. The men have decades of experience and will ensure that Springfield Township is able to provide vital fire and EMS services while the internal investigation is ongoing.
“I know that I speak for all of the trustees when I say that every resident in Springfield Township deserves full transparency,” Mr. Hampton said. “My promise to you is that we will get to the bottom of what happened and do everything we can to improve. Future communications on this matter will be posted on our website, SpringfieldTownship.net.”
