Arizona EMS/ Fire Industry Advisory

Elfrida teenager to be charged as adult in arson case

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:10:36 -0500

By Jonathon Shacat/Wick Communications

Published: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 6:02 PM CDT

The Cochise County Attorney's Office has filed a felony complaint against a 16-year-old boy who is being charged as an adult with destroying the administration building at Valley Union High School in Elfrida.

Manuel Corona, of Elfrida, is charged with one count of arson, one count of burglary of a non-residential structure, which is the high school, while armed with a deadly weapon, and one count of aggravated criminal damage.

"All three counts in the felony complaint are charges that the County Attorney's Office can charge as an adult," County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer said during a phone interview Wednesday.

He explained the county attorney has the discretion to charge juveniles as adults as long as they are at least 14 years old and they commit certain crimes.

Examples of those offenses include any Class 1 felonies, such as murder; any Class 2 felonies; certain class 3 felonies, such as assault, kidnapping or sexual offenses; and any Class 3, 4, 5 or 6 felonies involving serious physical injury or the use or discharge or threat of a deadly weapon. Also, juveniles who are chronic felony offenders can be charged as adults.

If the child is younger than 14 years old and the county attorney wants to charge the juvenile as an adult, prosecutors would need to file a transfer request and the discretion would be left up to the juvenile court judge.

The fire took place July 23, according to the Cochise County Sheriff's Office. Elfrida and Sunsites fire departments responded to the scene and extinguished the fire, but the building was a total loss. More than $250,000 in damage was caused to the administration building. Another $30,000 in damage was caused to the school's science building, which was broken into and vandalized.

Corona was arrested Friday after several leads were followed and people were interviewed. He is being held at the Cochise County Jail on $20,000 bond, officials said Wednesday.

Herald/Review reporter Jonathon Shacat can be reached at 515-4693 or by e-mail at jonathon.shacat@bisbeereview.net.

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Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:14:11 -0500

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July 29 - August 2, 2008
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Ariz. DHS director resigns

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:03:38 -0500

by Matthew Benson - Jul. 3, 2008 02:05 PM
The Arizona Republic

Arizona Department of Health Services Director Sue Gerard is resigning her position, effective Aug. 1.

�I'd like to thank Governor Napolitano for giving me the opportunity to work at my dream job for the last three years,� Gerard wrote in a statement released Thursday. �It has been a privilege to work for the people of Arizona and we've made some wonderful progress toward improving the quality and availability of health care. But I think this is the right time for me to move on. We have an excellent staff in place and I'm proud of the progress we've made.�Previously, the 35-year Arizona resident was a chief adviser to Gov. Janet Napolitano on health care issues, and served as a Republican legislator from 1988 to 2002. Replacing Gerard on an interim basis is January Contreras, the governor's adviser on health issues.

�My thanks go to Susan for her commitment to Arizona , and for sharing her expertise with DHS,� Napolitano wrote in a statement. �She has been an outstanding public servant for more than two decades. Much of the progress we've made in health care is a direct result of legislation Susan introduced and improvements she made at DHS.�

Regardless of the sunny statements released Thursday by Napolitano and Gerard, their relationship became strained over the last year or so with the uncovering by Gerard's inspectors of a string of patient-care problems at the Arizona State Veteran Home, which is part of the state Department of Veterans Services.

In May, the state-run nursing home came under criticism after sending home without home-health services or medications a 67-year-old diabetic man recovering from brain surgery. DHS declared that residents in the home were in "immediate jeopardy,� the worst possible designation for such a facility. It was the second time in a year-and-a-half that the home had received the designation.

After that incident, the outspoken Gerard revealed some of her frustration with the Governor's Office in a series of inter-agency e-mails, which subsequently became public.

In one, Gerard wrote that the Governor's Office and Department of Veterans Services had a habit of siding with the veterans home rather than DHS when it came to questions of patient care at the nursing home. In another, Gerard described the reaction to her agency's negative inspections of the veterans home as a �shoot the messenger mentality.�

Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer said the governor didn't request Gerard's resignation, and denied that recent problems at the veterans home played any role in the shakeup.

�Sue Gerard made the decision to resign,� L'Ecuyer said. �It was her decision. The timing of Gerard's decision was Gerard's.� News of her resignation comes two days after General Richard �Gregg� Maxon stepped down from has position as head of the Department of Veterans Services. Stepping in to replace Maxon is Col. Joey Strickland, who most recently was deputy secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs.

Guadalupe choses PMT ambulance service

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:03:02 -0500

by Republic staff - Jul. 1, 2008 12:34 PM
The Arizona Republic

The Town of Guadalupe has chosen Professional Medical Transport (PMT) to provide ambulance service to its residents.

Southwest Ambulance had been providing ambulance service to the town. Neighboring Tempe in May switched from Southwest to PMT.

The Guadalupe contract was approved by the Town Council, but must still be approved by the Arizona Department of Health Services. PMT will begin servicing Guadalupe on or before August 1, according to a company press release. The contract is for three years, with the option for three additional two-year renewals.

Tempe-based PMT also serves Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and part of Chandler. The company's 911 ambulances are dispatched by Phoenix Fire Department's Regional Dispatch Center as part of the Valleywide automatic aid system.

Air ambulance safety questioned

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:54:47 -0500

The Associated Press FLAGSTAFF - A fiery collision that killed six people aboard two medical helicopters has underscored the dangers of emergency flights and renewed questions about whether they are worth the risks. Experts agree air ambulances can save lives when the victim is in grave condition and the hospital is a long way off or hard to reach by road. But they say there are other cases in which an ordinary ground ambulance is just as good, and perhaps safer. The collision involved two helicopters that were arriving with patients Sunday at Flagstaff Medical Center. It was the ninth accident in the U.S. this year involving emergency medical aircraft, bringing the number of deaths to 16, National Transportation Safety Board officials said Monday. "This has been a serious issue," NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker said. "We're going to work very, very hard to make sure we understand exactly what happened here, determine the probable cause and make recommendations to prevent it from happening again." Crashes of medical aircraft have been on the rise since the 1990s for a number of reasons, experts said. It is a booming business, fueled by the closing of emergency rooms in rural areas and an aging population, according to the National EMS Pilots Association. The number of emergency medical helicopters has climbed from roughly 400 in 2002 to more than 800 now, according to the Association of Air Medical Services, an industry group in Washington, D.C. From 2002 to 2005, about 1 of every 50 medical helicopters in the U.S. fleet was involved in a crash, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. That is a far deadlier rate than that of the U.S. airline industry, which earlier this decade went nearly five years without a single commercial jetliner crash. The report also cited NTSB figures that said the accident rate for emergency medical helicopters has risen from 3.52 accidents per 100,000 flight hours between 1992 and 2001 to 4.56 accidents per 100,000 flight hours between 1997 and 2001. Dr. Bryan Bledsoe, an emergency medicine physician who teaches at the University of Nevada and has researched accident rates of medical helicopters, said flights benefit only a small subset of patients, such as those needing a cardiac stent or balloon within a 90-minute window. But helicopters aren't necessary for transporting most other patients and needlessly expose them to danger, Bledsoe said. While helicopters are faster than ground transportation, traditional ambulances can often get patients there quicker, given the difficulty of finding places to land helicopters and the decision sometimes to turn off the engines when the aircraft arrives and then power them up again when it is time to take off, Bledsoe said. Bledsoe said 2 out of 3 patients transported by an EMS helicopter generally have minor injuries, and 1 in 4 is sent home without being admitted to the hospital. He said the standards for the severity of injuries for transporting people are too low. "It's an amazingly liberal criteria, and because the industry is driven by profit, there is little movement to change it," Bledsoe said.

Fire Assistant Chief Villalovos retires

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:53:39 -0500

By Elizabeth Jackman During his 33-year career with the Glendale Fire Department, Assistant Chief Dave Villalovos has done it all, from fighting fires to delivering babies. �I have delivered 13 babies,� Villalovos said. �One of the fathers wanted to name the baby after me, but I said, �please don�t do that,� because it was a little girl. He invited me back after my shift for a beer.� That was early in his career, back in the late 1970s, he said. Villalovos, 57, who is the second-longest serving member of the department behind Engineer Gary Flannery, who has close to 35 years, celebrated his retirement June 20. �I decided to retire because I am never going to have more years than him,� Villalovos said with a chuckle. Born and raised in Compton, Calif., a suburb in south Los Angeles, Villalovos joined the Air Force a year after completing high school. He worked as a jet mechanic. He was stationed at Luke Air Force Base when he left the service in May 1973 and went to work as a cable splicer for Mountain Bell. His career with the fire department almost never happened because at 5-feet 5-inches tall, he was told he was too short. A chance acquaintance with a man he played handball with for two years at a park at 59th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, which they used to call �chicken park� because there was a chicken ranch across the street, changed the course of his life. The man turned out to be then Fire Chief Gray Crabtree, but Villalovos said he had no idea he was the fire chief. �He told me Glendale did not have a height requirement, only that your weight be proportionate to your height,� Villalovos said. �I tested and got hired along with seven other recruits in September 1974. I was 24.� After two weeks of on the job training, he was put on Engine 153 at 59th Avenue and Thunderbird Road. �At that time we had about 30 members and only three fire stations,� Villalovos said. He spent three years as a firefighter and then became an engineer, was promoted to captain in 1986 at Station No. 152 at 69th Avenue and Bethany Home Road and to battalion chief in 1997. In 2005, he was appointed deputy chief and assistant chief in 2007. �After one year as a firefighter I had the opportunity to go to paramedic school,� he said. Along the way, he was also part of the first bicycle paramedic team developed for special events such as the Fourth of July, worked as a Fire Pal in the schools teaching fire safety and was an original member of the department�s HAZMAT (hazardous materials) team. �I stayed pretty busy,� Villalovos said. �It�s been a good career. I�ve seen the best and the worst, a lot of tragic calls; drownings, traffic fatalities, and unexpected trauma such as shootings, all very sad. We do what we can to provide comfort. At least I was there to try and help.� Villalovos remembered one very special thank you that came 22 years after he saved the life of a woman who had been choking to death on a piece of meat while at her home eating dinner. �In 2001, a woman named Vicki from our IT department came to work on my computer,� Villalovos said. �During that time she showed me a business card of Chief Crabtree�s and on the back was written my name and Gary Flannery. She told me we were the two paramedics who came and saved her mom�s life. She said when she started working at the city she hoped she would run into them one day so she could say thank you. She carried that card around for more than 20 years. I asked her how her mom was, she said she just celebrated her 80th birthday and she brought her down to meet me and Gary.� The best part about being a firefighter is the chance to serve the public and help people, he said. �I feel that is what firefighters are all about, helping people,� Villalovos said. His plans for retirement include playing more golf and handball which he still loves playing and traveling with his wife Cindy, a fleet manager for the Glendale police department who he married in 2007. Villalovos first wife, Virginia, passed away in 2003. The couple raised three children who Villalovos calls the �M and Ms,� Melissa, Mike and Melinda. He has three grandchildren. Reach the reporter at ejackman@star-times.com, or 623-847-4615.

2 medical helicopters collide in Flagstaff; 6 killed, 3 injured

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:15:36 -0500

by Jim Walsh - Jun. 30, 2008 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic FLAGSTAFF - Six people were killed and three were injured Sunday after two helicopters collided near a Flagstaff hospital and set off an explosion that blasted emergency responders off their feet, federal and local authorities said. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said no bystanders on the ground were hurt. No names have been released. Officials are still trying to reach the victims' families. The crash occurred less than 48 hours after another medical helicopter crash-landed about 30 miles outside Prescott, injuring its crew of three. It is the second deadly helicopter collision in Arizona in a year. Last July, four people in two news copters were killed. Their aircraft collided as they were tracking a low-speed police chase through Phoenix. A Coconino County sheriff's spokesman, Gerry Blair, called the Flagstaff collision "unprecedented" for the city, and said he believes it's the biggest mass-casualty event in its history. Local police and fire officials were called to the crash scene near Flagstaff Medical Center at 3:48 p.m. Both helicopters were headed for the hospital and were less than a mile away from the facility when they hit and spun out of control over a forested area that's a popular spot for bicyclists and hikers. Fire officials said one landed on Switzer Mesa - also called McMillan Mesa - and exploded soon after they arrived. The other landed downhill in a tangle of debris. A patient was among the three passengers who died in the Bell 407 helicopter operated by a Colorado company, Air Methods, based in Colorado, Gregor said. Another three were killed and one was injured in the other aircraft, a Bell 407 run by Classic Helicopter Service of Utah. Two paramedics responding to the crash suffered burns to their hands and were taken to Flagstaff Medical for treatment. Their injuries were not life-threatening. Capt. Mark Johnson, a Flagstaff Fire Department spokesman, said one of his co-workers, Capt. Ray Gonzalez, was running up the hill toward one of the downed helicopters near Turquoise and Forest roads when he was struck by a blast. "He said it felt like someone had pulled his feet out from under him," Johnson said. John Kincade of Flagstaff was spending the afternoon with his family at a nearby park when he saw the helicopters hit and fall. A woman who looked to be a patient was ejected from one of the aircraft. Kincade said he ran to help but found she had no pulse. Seconds later, the explosion hit and threw a firefighter 15 or 20 feet in the air. Officials said started a brush fire that burned about 10 acres before fire crews contained it about 90 minutes later. "Even if I had all the training in the world, there was nothing I could have done," Kincade said. The helicopter downhill from the mesa was so badly wrecked by the impact that firefighters spent 20 minutes trying to extricate the victims. Two people managed to escape but were hurt by the nearby explosion. They were expected to survive and are likely in good condition, said Blair, of the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. Gregor said FAA and National Transportation and Safety Board authorities have been called to the scene to determine what happened. The devastating collision has stunned law enforcement and fire officials, who said they cannot imagine what led to the crash. "It was calm. It was clear. There was no wind," Johnson said. Conditions were similar in last year's crash that killed pilots Craig Smith and Scott Bowerbank, and TV cameramen Jim Cox and Rich Krolak. In a preliminary report on the July 27 crash, the NTSB said the Channel 3 helicopter was hovering when the Channel 15 craft struck it, causing the crash. A final report is expected this summer. Republic reporter Lily Leung contributed to this article. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/06/30/20080630helicoptercrash0630.html

Arizona medical chopper crash victims improve

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:14:30 -0500

Jun. 28, 2008 10:05 AM Associated Press FLAGSTAFF - The condition of a crewman critically hurt in the crash of a medical helicopter near Ash Fork is improving and he is now listed in serious condition. Jonathan Collier with Air Evac Inc. says the flight paramedic had surgery after Friday's crash but is now doing much better. He called Saturday's developments "very good news" and says they are encouraged he will continue to recover. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/06/28/20080628choppercrash-ON.html

3 hurt in helicopter landing near Prescott

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:13:50 -0500

by Samantha Hauser and 12 News - Jun. 27, 2008 03:04 PM The Arizona Republic Three people were injured early Friday morning when a medical helicopter crashed about 30 miles outside of Prescott near Ash Fork. The Air Evac helicopter crew was flying to pick up a patient near Ash Fork, which is near the junction of Interstate 40 and Arizona 89. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/06/27/20080627n12-0627chopperlanding.html

Man bites 2 firefighters in Phoenix, dies at local hospital

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:47:03 -0500

Reported by: Chris Kline Email: ckline@abc15.com Last Update: 6/22 6:20 pm A man bit two Phoenix firefighters on Saturday before crews transported him to a local hospital where he died from an unreleased medical condition. Police said the firefighters were originally sent to a home near 75th Avenue and Indian School Road to respond to a medical emergency. http://www.abc15.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=f2a6c80f-826e-4ff4-ab64-21a2c4372507