WASHINGTON — A fire truck in D.C. took a 1-month-old baby to the hospital Monday because waiting for the nearest available ambulance would have delayed care.
A fire ladder truck arrived in the 5000 block of Hunt Street in Northeast just four minutes after dispatch, according to D.C. Fire and EMS Spokesman Tim Wilson.
A fire engine with a paramedic arrived four minutes later, and an EMS supervisor also arrived at the scene.
The nearest available ambulance, however, didn’t arrive until 13 minutes after dispatch. It had been a little more than four miles away from the scene.
Responders made the decision to transport the baby in the fire truck — a move not entirely unusual but not considered ideal, either.
NBC Washington first reported a child in cardiac arrested was transported by fire truck.
Wilson says the baby was in critical condition but was conscious and breathing at the time fire fighters arrived.
Last week, a baby from Southeast died after the nearest ambulance was seven miles away.
Earlier this year, Mayor Muriel Bowser vowed to increase available ambulances to 49 during peak demand.
But in both cases of a fire truck transporting a baby, there were only 39 ambulances operating.
