Parkland Ambulance is encouraging the public to take help them bring down false-alarm 'man down,' calls. (Ronald Quaroni/paNOW Staff)

By Ronald Quaroni

Paramedics

Parkland Ambulance reports high instance of ‘man down’ calls

Jul 29, 2019 | 1:52 PM

People sleeping or taking breaks in public spaces has led to an increased call-volume for Parkland Ambulance.

When an ambulance gets called out for a ‘man down’ call, Director of Public Affairs Lyle Karasiuk said it’s often the result of Good Samaritans noticing someone in distress, but unable to provide key details for paramedics to determine the best response.

“Therefore 911 takes the information and routes that call to the appropriate agencies, which involves our paramedics and we go ‘red lights and sirens,’” the most high-alert, high risk form of travel to the public and paramedics,” Karasiuk told paNOW.

He noted that once staff get on scene, it sometimes turns out to be a false-alarm.

“Sometimes, someone has just stopped for a rest. Maybe they’ve stopped to re-adjust a backpack or get something,” Karasiuk said. “We get a large number of these calls, where if the public did a few things for us, it would help out greatly.”

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Karasiuk urged the public, to only stop and check on someone if it is safe, and they feel comfortable doing so.

He said an easy way of checking, is pulling over in your car, rolling down the window and asking if they require any help.

Karasiuk indicated small things like honking your horn or asking someone if they’re OK from a safe distance is a great help.

“Our crews are responding anywhere between 18 to 24 calls in a given 12-hour period so we’re very busy. These types of calls don’t tax our resources, they just add another layer of response,” Karasiuk said.

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Ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @RonaldQuaroni