Emergency-Sante paramedics had to answer more than 130 calls for waterfalls across Montreal and Laval as a result of the freezing rain that hit the city.
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Read more: Cold weather in southern Quebec after a blizzard
At 5 p.m., the organization counted 131 interventions falling on the ice in sidewalks, streets or parking lots, spokesman Stephen Smith explained to QMI.
“We had a very difficult day with paramedics and those who fell,” Smith said, referring to multiple calls for injuries to the wrist, ankle, back or head.
However, the number of surgeries taken to the hospital is unknown.
In addition to the waterfall, fifteen millimeters of ice turned the metropolis into a giant ice ring, doubling the number of calls to 911. “On average, we get 40 to 50 calls an hour. This morning, there were 80, 90 calls per hour. […] With twice the number of calls per hour, it is not possible to maintain this rhythm, ”the spokesman said.
This is the first time in three years that Argentis-Sante has received such a large number of calls, and the last came on the January 25, 2019 episode of Ice.
Snow wins
For its part, the city of Montreal promised to re-employ one-third of the crew assigned to loading ice, or about 1,000 workers, from the early hours of the night to clear the ice.
After all, in a few hours the ice had accumulated rapidly, much to the amazement of the abrasive crew.
“Clearly, once the citizens woke up, the sidewalks were hard to cross,” admitted Montreal City spokesman Philip Saborin.
“We are not fighting against nature with equal forces. It takes eight hours to get around the network. […] […]. We could not get our hands on the snow, “he continued.
By the end of Wednesday, the sidewalks in the main arteries had been cleared of ice, but work had to be done on the residential streets.
Meanwhile, a spokesman said the city has decided to continue the snow loading work, fearing that the icebergs will be submerged and frozen in the coming days.
Staff shortage
It was, however, a frantic number of interventions that tested the Argentine-Sande teams, especially since about fifteen vehicles were missing from the roads at the beginning of the day, especially due to a shortage of manpower.
“We have a shortage of staff to live with,” he said. Smith said it exacerbates other risks that Emergency-Sande has to deal with, such as illness, Govt-19 or not being on holiday.
To make up for the shortfall, paramedics assigned to administrative tasks returned to the road on Wednesday, bringing the number of teams back to normal. “Everyone is mobilizing and we are sticking together to meet the need,” the spokesman said succinctly.
However, the latter judges, in his view, should have known that Montreals should only call an ambulance in the event of an emergency, and that in the event of a minor injury it would not prevent them from going to the hospital. On your own or with the help of a relative, for example.
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