Evening star., 1943-03-06
New Ambulance
To Be Driven
byFiremen
Vehicle Donated
BY BARRIERS Assigned
To Park Road Area

Firemen soon will join police as
ambulance drivers in the new
movement to save lives of Wash
ington's traffic accident victim.
A new ambulance, contributed to
the city by the BARRIERS of Washing
ton, will be assigned to No. 6 truck
company on Park road between
Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets
NV. for service to that section of
the city, it was revealed today by
Commissioner Guy Mason.
The ambulance, modern in every
respect and fully equipped, will be
manned by firemen who are trained
In first aid and rescue work. 1t will
be on call "a hours daily and avail
able for immediate response at any
time to serve emergencies in that
part of the city. A garage to house
it will be remodeied out of a shed
at the fire station.
Scout Cars on Duty.
This was the latest development
In Commissioner Mason's plan to
improve ambulance service to the
wartime Capital. It followed swiftly
on a police order effective yesterday
which puts the 13 police scout car
ambulances of the city on duty un-
der new six-point program of re-
spending Immediately to all serious
accidents.
Commissioner Mason asked police
for recommendations on improve
ment in ambulance service after
young woman traffic victim for more
than a half hour one cold morning
recently lay on the pavement at
Eleventh street and PENNSYLVANIA
avenue NV. waiting for a hospital
ambulance. Later man traffic VIC
tim waited nearly an hour on a
snowstorm for an ambulance. Both
patients finally were removed to hos
pitals in police patrols.
The new ambulance presented to
the city by the BARRIERS will be fol-
lowed soon by another new ambu-
lance to be given the city next
Tuesday by the District of Columbia
Bar Association. It also may be
assigned to a fire station some
where in the city as a vital addition
to the new plan for improving serv-
Ice to the injured and sick.
Hopes to Save Lives.
Expressing hope that the program
Tor speeding scout-car ambulances
to accidents would be of great as
sistance in saving life, Commissioner
Mason said:
The scout-car plan is only the
beginning. I am gathering addi-
tional information on the entire am
bulance situation and expect to
develop further plans"
The ambulance presented to the
city by the BARRIERS was authorized
specifically by the donors to be used
at. Its new post at the Northwest
section fire station. The Executive
Committee of the BARRIERS, headed
by Saviour Sidotti, at a meeting
Thursday night officially approved
the assignment of their gift to the
f1rehouse.
Meantime, Inspector Harvey G.
Callahan, assistant superintendent
OF police, is expecting great i'm
provement in service through his
order issued yesterday on scout-car
ambulances.
To Speed Accident Calls.
Speed in communication of mes
cages about injuries is one of the
points stressed in the new order.
Upon receipt of information that
person has been injured to the
extent that an ambulance is re-
quired," says the order to the police
force. the operators on duty in the
Central Bureau will give such call
priority and promptly notify the
radio dispatcher, giving the loca-
ton at which the injured person is
to be found, and Immediately notify
the hospital covering the part of
the city where the injured person is
reported to be. by telephone, noting
the time of the call or calls"
The Scout-car ambulance in the
area nearest the accident will be
notified by short-wave radio, and
will be expected to speed to the
scene and take charge of the situa-
ton pending arrival of the ambu-
lance. In case of delay, the scout
car ambulance will rush the patient
to the hospital.
Further recommendations are ex-
pected soon by Commissioner Mason
from Inspector Arthur E. Miller, who
has been investigating circumstances
in several cases where people in
jured in traffic were forced to wait
too long for hospital ambulance