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Original Research and Critical Analysis

Emergency Medical Services Response to a Major Freeway Bridge Collapse

John L. Hick, MD, Jeffrey D. Ho, MD, William G. Heegaard, MD, MPH, Douglas D. Brunette, MD, Anne Lapine, MD, Tom Ward, EMT-P and Joseph E. Clinton, MD

Address correspondence to John L. Hick, MD, Emergency Medicine 825, Hennepin County Medical Center, 701 Park Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55415 (e-mail: john.hick{at}hcmed.org).

Background: The Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River on August 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 127.

Methods: This article describes the emergency medical services response to this incident.

Results/Discussion: Complexities of the event included difficult patient access, multiple sectors of operation, and multiple mutual-aid agencies. Patient evacuation and transportation was rapid, with the collapse zone cleared of victims 95 minutes after the initial 9-1-1 call. A common regional emergency medical service incident management plan that was exercised was critical to the success of the response.

Conclusions: Communication and patient tracking difficulties could be improved in future responses.

Key Words: emergency medical services • mass casualty incident, triage




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J. J. James
From the editor-in-chief.
Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness, March 1, 2009; 3(1): 3 - 4.
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