Township helps pay for EMTs’ bulletproof vests
LOWER POTTSGROVE » It’s been almost 19 years since the horrific shooting at Columbine High School that left 15 people dead.
One of the lesser-discussed aspects of that incident is whether some of those wounded could have been saved if emergency medical personnel could have gotten to them in time.
“You had people who had been shot, lying there bleeding out, while the police went passed them looking for the shooter,” Lower Pottsgrove Police Chief Mike Foltz told the board of commissioners March 22.
With the area unsecured, medical personnel could not move in without putting themselves in the line of fire.
A better way, said Foltz, would be to find a way to get them medical help as soon as possible.
The answer, is bulletproof vests.
“It’s no longer practical to let victims bleed until scene is secure, so whether they are trying to help, or coming with us, medics need some protection,” said Foltz.
“Up until now, we had been giving them our used vests which, after a few years, don’t smell so good,” he said.
That’s why in the 2018 budget, the township commissioners set aside a small amount of money — $3,000 — to help with the purchase of new vests for Goodwill Ambulance personnel.
“We hope that other townships will follow suit,” said Township Commissioner Ray Lopez, who is also a member of Ringing Hill Fire Company and the township’s Emergency Management Coordinator.
“The way the world is now, they’re in the ‘hot zone,’” Commissioners Chairman Bruce Foltz said of emergency medical technicians like Goodwill Ambulance EMT Erik Loshnowsky, who was on hand, wearing one of the new bullet-proof vests to accept the oversized check.
“We want you to know we appreciate what you do, and that we want to help keep you safe,” said Lopez.