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Show 4B Lakeside Review South, Wednesday, June 6, 1984 County Night Patrol, On Mountains , In Homes CHERYL ARCHIBALD Review Staff Eric FARMINGTON vials checked paramedic, of cardiac medicines and IV solutions and tucked the velcro clad packets into a paramedics equipment pack. He and crew chief, Kevin McLeod, Mortensons partner with the Davis County Sheriffs Department paramedics were preparing for their 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. patrol of South Davis County. As McLeod finished by inspecting the monitor and defibrillator, Mortenson expressed concern over his revolver, which wasnt shooting straight. Ive got trouble, he said of his Model 27. Its shooting all over the place. The men, uniformed in brown shirts and green pants picked up their gear. Im qualifying with Evans, he said as they were On their way to the Mor-tenso- i t i . i : i trucks. ve Davis County paramedics, who answer both law enforcement and medical calls, had just ended their briefing where those going off duty gave reports and the men were given other infor- mation. At some briefings, depu- ties report things that are hard to with talk injured accident victims or fatalities. At those meetings, joking and laughing are sometimes a way to cope. This particular Friday, the bantering was easy and the reports routine. At 6:30 p.m., Rescue 20, with McLeod driving,' received its first call-- a traffic accident with injuries. Its lights flashing and siren blasting, the truck raced on i; ''A f Mft '"fa, fel S' , ' sev-er- ly about-emergenci- es to its way Mortenson and nonchalantly joked as McLeod about joggers on the access road. Mortenson answered another call and the lights and siren abruptly stopped. Someone at the scene took him to the hospital, Mortenson explained. The practice is not recommended by paramedics. People have a natural reaction to hurry and get r i'f ' the injured to a hospital, " McLeod said. They should keep him still until the paramedics arrive, in case of neck injuries. McLeod, with four children of his own" all under 12, felt the hardest calls are those involving children. Mortenson, single, in his early - - jt n, $&, ', :" '? twenties, agreed. By 7 p.m. the rescue truck was winding its way toward the gravel pits above Val Verda. Forest service land is a gathering place for beer drinkers and partiers, McLeod explained. This is bound to be a busy night because the weather is warm, the kids are all getting out of school. All the signs are here, he said. On a dirt road above the gravel pits McLeod stopped what was to be the first of many vehicles full of teenagers that night. The second was a pick-u- p truck, which, upon encountering the sheriffs truck, hurriedly turned and sped away. Mortenson stayed to get the kids licenses while McLeod chased it. In the car, he said, was a bag of plastic cups and he suspected the pick-u- p to have a beer keg. After chasing a cloud of dust and making a few wrong turns, McLeod returned to the teens and Mortenson. So did the pick-ucargoed with kids.' Even though no beer could be found, McLeod gave his first lecture of the night. This party is going to be bracken up before it starts. I suggest you all kick back and find something else to do. Ive picked too many of you up off the side of the mountain. We dont want anybody hurt. p, After the adolescents took leave, McLeod explained that most of them were from Bountiful High School. Bountiful High is our biggest partier. They have more money. They have the cars to get around in. A lot of times theyre just bored. Within minutes, the pickup was spotted again on a distant hill with other cars and jeeps driven by high school students. Rescue 20 joined them. Several vehicles were conspicuously without drivers or passengers, and the rest of the kids were just there to see what everybody else was doing. A jeep, traveling -- help the woman, who had bled for nearly an hour before the paramedics were called. Her color was pale and ashen, and her blood pressure extremely low. Mortenson immediately called Lakeview Hospitals emergency room, and reported the womans vital signs to ER physician, Dennis Wyman. This is a little different because we have a doctor on the scene who wants to accept full responsibility for the womans care, Mortenson explained. He gave Wyman the status of the situation. Many times another doctor on the scene can present problems, Mortenson said later. Paramedics are trained to render all types of emergency aid to victims. A doctor may not know those procedures,, or he may not realize what the paramedic is trained to do. The doctor in this case knew what to do, and there were no problems, he explained. The woman was placed on a gurney and her legs were wrapped in MAST pants, to push blood circulation upward where it was needed most. Mortenson explained the procedure to the womans distraught husband. She was transferred, by ambulance to Lakeview Hospital where an obstetrician was at freeway speed leaned around curves and skidded up the hill just in time to catch McLeods Go look for next warning. something else to do. We dont want you to get hurt. They all agreed to leave, and McLeod made one more stop. Climbing another hill, the truck dropped into a hollow occupied by a nest of teenagers. Plastic cups flew in every direction. The excuses were almost You always say not persuasive. to drink and drive, so we came up here where we wouldnt be hurting anyone. They had sleeping bags, and the 14 or so. boys and four or five girls planned to spend the night. McLeod asked their ages, and they were all under drinking age. He asked where the beer was but no one would tell, so he took names and threatened to call parents. As one of the boys directed McLeod to the beer keg, a few girls loosened up and tried to explain themselves. We dont do this all the time. We dont drink. We just came up here to be with our boyfriends. How did they get their parents to let them spend the night? They wouldnt answer. Did they lie? Their guilty smiles gave them away. Rescue 20, loaded with a con fiscated keg of spirits led a procession of 15 or more party vehicles from the mountain, stopping now and then to give the bad news to partiers on their way up. The paramedics estimated around 200 teenagers were in the hills for the party. McLeod didnt like spending so much time on the hill because of the time it would take to respond to a medical emergency. Just as the rescue truck reached pavement a medical was called. It was a miscarriage with serious complications. Rescue 20, Bountiful Fire Departments Emergency Medical Technicians, an ambulance and another deputy all arrived to waiting. After .restocking supplies from the emergency room paramedics cupboard, Mortenson filled out a report at a desk in the emergency room. There is a lot of paper work involved in the job. Its called Cover thine butt, r McLeod said. The two men were half-wa-y through the; night, and they drove to Farmington to unload the beer evidence. They got something to eat, and proceeded to answer 22 more calls before morning. But, as McLeod had said earlier, Some nights you have a hard time finding things to do to stay busy. jgdSS-S'-' ji , d3 r n EXPLORING THE hills above North Salt Lake, Deputy Ryan Evans seeks out a group of teenagers who were seen drinking in the area. Photo by Rodney Wright DEPUTY EVANS carefully inspects a car for possible occupants. 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