The following is an update from Community Ambulance regarding storm response before, during and after.
We have had additional crews staffing our ambulances since Sunday. During the storm, we also placed a crew with one of our ambulances in the firehouse at Long Island MacArthur Airport. This allowed for a more rapid response to alarms in Bohemia, and did not require the crew to travel a far distance during the height of the wind and rain.
Both during the storm, and the days following, we have had a large influx of alarms. At one point during the storm, we had five alarms going at one time. The range has been from routine medical alarms to cold exposures from residents in flood zones that chose to stay in their homes. In the days since the storm has passed, we have also seen many carbon monoxide exposure alarms from residents placing generators too close to their homes. During this whole process, we have been working very closely with our local fire departments, who have assisted us in gaining access to patients in flood zones or in areas with down trees.
We are extremely proud of the amount of volunteers that gave up time with their families during this frightening storm to be on the ambulance. We are all going through this together, but these volunteers sacrificed their time to help others throughout the past few days.
