LETTERS

From Nov. 3, 2005

Emergency response greatly appreciated
To the editor:
   On Oct. 23, our 9-month old grandson was choking and we could not seem to find the cause.
   We called 9-1-1 and the Manville police were at my door in less than a minute.
   The two officers — whose names we didn’t get — were very caring and supportive to our family.
   The EMS brought our grandson to the hospital, and all went well.
   We are writing to thank the police officers for their quick response and the 9-1-1 operator and EMS for all their help.
   It is really nice to know that when there is an emergency that there is such quick response.
   And we really appreciate that. Thank you again.
Michael Bezick Jr.

Barbara Bezick

Knopf Street
EMTs help delayed by poor planning
To the editor:
   Not long after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, a task force of 100 volunteer EMTs and 50 paramedics equipped with 50 ambulances, rescue equipment, boats, lighting and generators was prepared to mobilize to the disaster area.
   We waited two weeks for a call that never came.
   The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) required us to stand ready and await formal request from Louisiana and federal officials. Had we mobilized without EMAC’s blessing, neither our liability nor considerable expenses would have been covered.
   As reports from the disaster zone indicated much more help was needed, and infants and senior citizens died from lack of assistance, we remained in New Jersey, horrified and paralyzed by EMAC’s bureaucratic delays.
   Meanwhile, utility-repair vehicles, which are not dispatched via EMAC, arrived in the stricken area ahead of many ambulances.
   The woefully inadequate response highlighted the communication breakdown not only at the federal level, but also between New Jersey’s Department of Law & Public Safety and Department of Health and Senior Services.
   This haphazard response warrants thorough review and assessment at all levels before disaster strikes again.
   That said, the New Jersey State First Aid Council’s EMS volunteers remain ready to respond should the need arise again.
Sue Van Orden

Lincoln Park
The writer is president of the New Jersey State First Aid Council.