A question for EMS/Paramedics.

(The question comes near the end)

Tonight, I watched as firefighters pulled a mother and child from a burning building.

I look down on their townhouse complex from my apartment.
The police arrived first, around the same time as I heard the mother screaming "Help me, for the love of god, somebody help me!".

Very shortly (and I mean incredible response time!) the firefighters and EMS units were on scene. Allot of units! (Here in the GTA we refer to this as the GTA Overkill, because they practically send everything they've got to just about every call I've seen)
One of the police officers shouted to EMS and the firefighters that there's a mother and a baby boy trapped on the second floor.
My fiance joined me on the balcony shortly after this, she had been woken up, and I didn't have the heart to tell her about the child being trapped in the building.

The firefighters rushed the townhouse, hoses first, then climbed the ladder to the second story, shattered a window, and later I saw the child being brought out on a stretcher, the mother (conscious) was on another stretcher being wheeled to a separate EMS vehicle.

On the way to the EMS vehicle they were performing compressions on the child for what seemed like just under a minute. Then they continued to wheel the child on the stretcher into the EMS vehicle while the paramedic who was originally doing compressions now pumping air through a breathing tube in the kids mouth.

The EMS unit didn't pull away immediately, which is what puzzled me.

If the child was in really bad condition, wouldn't they have sped away immediately?
Or did they not rush, because the child was stabilized?
Did they not rush away because the child didn't make it?
Or, did they not want to pull away immediately because the child was awake, etc?

I just want to know from any Paramedics/EMS people what conditions would warrant the EMS not immediately pulling away once the child was on board.

Anyone have any insight?

I'm just hoping the child was alright. I told my fiance not to look when the child on the stretcher came in view, I still don't have the heart to tell her it was a child.

Well, it looks like I've got my answer, though, I didn't want to hear it.

Boy, 5, dies in Oakville townhouse fire.

A fire claimed the life of a 5-year-old boy in Oakville this morning. Just after 1 a.m., emergency officials received a 911 call after flames broke out inside a townhouse on White Oaks Blvd., northeast of Trafalgar Rd. and Hwy. 403 in Oakville, said Staff Sgt. John Karcz of Halton Region police. Police were first to arrive and were told by the mother that her son was still in a room upstairs, said Karcz. "Two officers entered the residence and ascended up the stairs to the upper level but were met with very heavy smoke and had to evacuate," he said. Oakville Fire arrived shortly after and quickly initiated a search of the property, said Platoon Chief Gerry Lieferink. Firefighters went through the front door and managed to make their way up the stairs where they found the child in one of the bedrooms. He was unconscious and covered in soot. Because of the intensity of the flames, firefighters could not make their way back down, Lieferink said. Crews outside the home used a ladder to break a second-floor window and the boy was evacuated. Both mother and son were rushed to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital where the boy was pronounced dead. Lieferink said the mother suffered smoke inhalation and some burns, but could not confirm whether her condition was serious. The two police officers who braved the flames were also taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation but have since been released. At this point, it appears the boy died as a result of smoke inhalation, but it's too early to confirm, Lieferink said. Initial reports show the fire started in an upstairs bedroom, he said. There were working smoke detectors throughout the building, he added. "The Halton Regional Police, the Oakville Fire Department and the Ontario Fire Marshal's office are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the fire. At this point of time the cause of the fire is undetermined," Karcz said.

What an awful time for this to have happened to her. House and Child, gone, 2 days before Christmas.

That's a hard thing to watch and have to reach out sympathy for parents in such a horrific situation. A year and a half ago a drunk driver plowed into my neighbor's house (our homes are made of wood). I stood there watching, wondering if anyone was killed as the firecrews and police worked to help. No one was hurt, but knowing that driver was one house away from possibly killing someone in my family sent an icy chill. I've some friends who are injured for life, some who were killed. It's difficult feeling helpless to do much about it, let alone one's own child. May peace and comfort be with these families.

That's very easy to answer but very hard to hear

We paramedics have learned a lesson called "Stay n Play or Stow n Go"

When it comes to CPR and the children vs adults we have two scenarios to face. Children can often be saved in an ambulance setting. Often children who are not breathing are not doing so because of trauma. In this case more than likely smoke inhalation.

Adults are usually related to heart disease.

When we get an adult who is down because of heart disease it is important to rush the person to a hospital where they can give better drugs and defibrillate (shock) in a better setting that we can.

On the other hand, kids often need immediate CPR and rescue breathing so we often work quickly to get a needle in and start breathing for them.

It's rough to watch...I can't deny that but we truly have to look into the situation and look deeper. It's hard for us too I promise

-Kyo