HUMBOLDT — EMS administrators saw “nothing out of the ordinary” following a 911 call Aug. 26 in which a Humboldt man was found incapacitated on his front lawn.
According to the call recording, Sunny Shreeve came upon Lupe Perez laying on his front lawn while she was driving through Humboldt in the afternoon. She called 911, and an ambulance was dispatched approximately two minutes later.
“The average page time for an ambulance is 90 seconds,” 911 Director Angela Murphy said.
Shreeve described Perez as having labored breathing, and was unresponsive and could not speak. A Humboldt police officer arrived on the scene five minutes after the 911 call, and an Allen County Ambulance arrived on the scene 14 minutes after the call was made.
Murphy said the ambulance stationed in Humboldt was on a transfer call when Shreeve dialed 911, so an ambulance from Iola was sent.
“I don’t think it could’ve been avoidable,” Murphy said of the 14-minute response time. “It’s always unfortunate and it feels like it’s forever, but it’s really not.”
Perez passed away Aug. 27 at Via Christi St. Francis Hospital in Wichita.
Allen County Interim EMS Director Michael Burnett said it is not feasible to send an ambulance from Iola to Humboldt when there is an ambulance on transfer in Humboldt. He said the majority of calls come from Iola, and removal of an ambulance from the city would actually increase the risk to Allen County citizens. The 14-minute response time was not unacceptable and EMS responded quickly to the situation, he said.
Allen County EMS services have three ambulances and one backup unit, the Iola Fire Department has two. Murphy said ambulances are stationed around the county, and call responses are based on whichever unit is closest at the time. In the situation on Aug. 26, the closest ambulance was located in Iola.
EMS: 911 call not of out ordinary
