Back streets too ice-covered for a fire truck to get through?
The Knoxville Fire Department's life-saving EMS crews are going to find a way to get to where they're needed.
During the mid-January 2024 snowstorm, KFD’s 4-wheel-drive Quick Response Vehicles were dispatched 462 times over 10 days to hard-to-reach car accident scenes and to treat medical emergencies.
"We were able to respond to every call that came in, and we made a difference," Paramedic Capt. Dustin Bull says. "We kept the fire trucks in the station and still provided a high level of service to the citizens of Knoxville."
Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks says the Emergency Operations Center processed more than 1,200 calls for fire and EMS services.
"We never missed a call and provided service to the citizens in every instance," he says.
Capt. Chris Hinkle recalls the difficult circumstances. His conclusion? "Our mission was highly successful."
"We ran several calls that there was no way a fire truck would have been able to reach the scene," Hinkle says. "There was more than once that the ambulances that were responding with us could not make it to the scene, and we had to take the patient down a hill or a couple of blocks over from the scene to the awaiting ambulance."
Paramedic Senior Firefighter Jacob O'Quinn says he was glad to help out during the recent storm.
"We worked long, hard hours, but it felt worthwhile knowing we were helping others," he says.