‘Incredible job’
of calm to the chaos for incoming ambulance crews, he said.
‘‘Initially there was chaos because that is the nature of it.’’
Watson limited the number of paramedics entering the mosque to about four or five because he did not want to expose too many staff to the horrific sight.
‘‘A good half of the patients I saw go into the back of ambulances I expected to die within an hour and the fact that only one has is incredible and is a plus to the entire Christchurch emerg- ency service community and the members of the public that helped out.’’
Watson paid tribute to St John staff because not only did they do an incredible job but they turned up to work the next day and were going to work tonight. ‘‘That says a lot about the dedication of our people to this community.’’
Spencer Dennehy had been working as a 111 emergency dispatcher for just nine months when Friday’s massacre happened. She took a call from a woman desperate to get to her husband and 2-year-old child who were at the Linwood mosque.
‘‘I was trying to tell her to stop because it was not safe for her to be there.’’
She later found out the husband and child survived.
St John Christchurch territory manager Craig Downing said he had a significant amount of pride for his staff, who have had to endure the earthquakes, the 2017 Port Hills fire, bus accidents and now the shootings.
All St John staff have access to an in-house psychologist and a management support team if they need help.