EPA regulations for Ambulances cost more than money

It seems a recent Ambulance breakdown that cost a life was caused by EPA emissions regulations.

WASHINGTON -

The D.C. fire department is trying to determine why one of its newer diesel ambulances broke down as crews were transporting a patient in cardiac arrest.

It happened on I-295 Wednesday afternoon as Ambulance 19 was taking a shooting victim to the hospital. Then it took several minutes for a second ambulance to arrive.

The driver of Ambulance 19 is telling investigators the indicator lights on the emission control system suddenly and unexpectedly jumped from a warning to shut down in a matter of seconds, and as the engine died, she was able to pull the rig to the side of the road.

The question now is why? And can these newer rigs be trusted to be there in an emergency?

But in the future, the fire department may not have to deal with the issue.

In May of last year, after many complaints from other fire departments, the EPA issued a directive waiving the diesel emissions rules for fire engines and ambulances.

DC ambulance breaks down while transporting shooting victim to hospital


How long does it take before regulators wake up ?

One thing for sure is we never ever hear about those responsible for these things being punished for their mistakes.

They keep right on getting paid.

Sure the engines are "under warranty", but is a Human life "under warranty" too ?

reply to post by xuenchen


When has the government (or any arm of government) ever been held responsible for the laws and rules they have created?

The government has an oft used 2 word phrase for incidents such as this.

Collateral damage.

This situation is like being caught between a rock and a hard place.

On one hand the EPA ( A federal agency) must adhere to the policies and practices of the current government as "democratically" ( ) elected by the people. These policies include environmental protection, which are concerns of the constituents of x,y,z elected official. Therefore, all federal agencies must consider, or appear to consider anyways, the environment and the impact they have on it.

While on the other hand you have the duty and responsibility of safe guarding the lives of the public, weather that be Health, Fire or Law enforcement.

Its quite a balancing act. Any government institution must be a master acrobat to balance its policies to piss off the least amount of people. Its the democratic way

In the this situation as detailed in the OP, perhaps their balance was out of equilibrium and the end of the article does note that a shift to counter this incidents are underway. Unfortunately, there will always be people for and against certain policies and practices.

The government is or should be the #1 custom service oriented industry. Unless you have enough power or clout to completely ignore or shrug off the masses

Yep.

Saving the planet sure doesn't save you money, or in this case your life.

The Epa is ran by political agenda than real science.

What good does an American Agency do on the world stage?

Isn't that the goal?

Save the planet?

reply to post by xuenchen


Connundrum: Poise a scenario to a militant environmentalist in which a spotted owl is choking on a large piece of granola and must be rushed, in an ambulance, to a care center to have life saving treatment. Pick either an EPA compliant ambulance, with the chance of a breakdown due to said compliance, or a fully functional ambulance which has not been neutered to reduce emissions.

The logic train here would be fascinating to witness. If they chose the stock ambulance, then the next obvious question would regarding their unwillingness to risk the endangered owl's life over the *chance* that the ambulance might break down, yet thei'r full willingness to risk human lives and livelihoods over the *chance* that anthropomorphic Global Warming is not a flophouse pseudoscience.

The USA needs a lot more in regards to EPA regulations. We need to regulate against them and eliminate one of the primary blockages to progress and development screwing up the nation today.