Virginia firefighters reinstated after taking child to hospital on fire engine
Two volunteer Stafford County firefighters who were taken off duty after they transported an 18-month-old child to the hospital in a fire engine have been returned to operational status starting at 4 p.m. Monday, fire officials said.
Captain James Kelley and Sgt. Virgil Bloom, both volunteers for the Falmouth Volunteer Fire Department in Fredericksburg, responded to a McDonald’s restaurant at 11:11 a.m. on Feb. 27 for an infant suffering from a seizure. A paramedic transport unit was also dispatched for the emergency call.
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Kelley, who is a D.C. firefighter and also volunteers in Stafford County, told FOX 5’s Alexandra Limon he immediately told the driver of the truck to turn on the engine because the little girl was in dire need of a hospital. Based on a previous call location for the nearest medic, Kelley said he thought it would be at least 10 to 15 minutes before one could arrive, and when he asked for a location from the nearest medic, he got an answer that didn’t give any specifics.
After a review was conducted, the two firefighters were reinstated on Monday. Stafford County Fire and Rescue Chief Mark Lockhart said, “The care provided to the patient was not the question. Our focus has been on the decision to transport the patient in the fire truck. The decision to transport in the fire truck was based on the information available to the officer in charge at the time and his assessment finding. We did, however, find that the department medical protocol for this type of patient was not followed and that will be addressed with the individuals involved.”
However, Chief Lockhart would not go as far as saying whether the two men did the right thing. When we asked and pressed him on this issue and what he would have done in that situation, he evaded the questions and said it was unfair for him to comment in hindsight.
“I’m just happy to be on active status and be able to protect the citizens of Stafford County,” said Capt. Kelley.
When we asked Kelley whether he would have done the same thing again in that situation, he told us, “Ten out of ten times. Doing the right thing is the right thing. That’s all I can say. My decision was my decision and I feel it was the best decision at the time.”
The fire chief said this issue still has to be reviewed by the Virginia’s Office of Emergency Medical Services, which is normal protocol in a case like this.
Jason Pelt, the attorney for Kelley and Bloom, has filed a request for all documentation from the Stafford County Fire and Rescue Department on their review and anything else related to this incident.
“We are going to take time to review that and the legal matter we can take to better the EMS service in the county, we will do that,” said Pelt.
