20 JULY 2016 | EMSWORLD.com
have lost them. I'm grateful we didn't."
"It's disheartening to think," says Dave
Molloy, local operations manager for AMR,
who responded that day and described the
abrupt forced relocation in the opening,
"that there are people out there who would
try to hurt us while we're trying to help oth -
ers. It's very frustrating."
Finding the IED wasn't the only challeng-
ing aspect to the San Bernardino incident.
But a smooth and well-crafted response by
the San Bernardino City Fire Department,
AMR, law enforcement and other partners
helped minimize casualties, aid the wound-
ed quickly and distill some valuable lessons
for when the next mass shooting occurs.
Controlled Chaos
The first report of shots fired that day came
at 10:58 a.m. A paramedic engine from near-
by fire station #231 was on scene and staged
within nine minutes of initial reports and
four of dispatch. Another 11 units rapidly
joined it.
Crews arrived in that wave, having
learned en route that the incident was an in-
progress shooting with at least 20 patients.
The FD's on-scene incident commander, a
battalion chief, began assigning ICS roles
over the radio then.
"Having those predetermined assign-
ments was really a key" to the response
going well, says Crews. "Knowing what we
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