I'd like to share a call I had with you as a training experience . My rookie partner and I had just finished a call and were on our way to fuel during a really nasty storm . Pouring rain , lightening , hail , the whole shebang . Suddenly , we heard SDFD toning out the world for a reported border patrol bus that had rolled on an offramp , pts. in excess of 70 . We finished fueling , gave dispatch a heads up , then started a slow roll that way . We got the official dispatch about a minute later . Fire was calling for all avaiable ambulances . As we neared the scene , I was getting a real uneasy feeling as we had heard no medics go on scene , no contact on EMS channels , no staging area , nothing . I was wondering if I'd be med division temporarily , and my partner was going ballistic , being new . Her underwear were boldly going where they'd never been before . When we arrived , we were told to come down the offramp . We were totally blocked by fire units and the bus . As far as I could see , we were the first ambulance there . As I was looking for the CP , to my relief , I saw 2 medic rigs parked under an overpass . There were only 7 injuries out of over 70 passengers . The driver was the only red tag ( flail chest from the steering wheel ) and we were supposed to take him with a medic on board . As we carried him to our rig , we realized we couldn't get out ! There was still no staging and 12 - 15 rigs piled up behind us . We had to carry him all the way to the back of the line . The point is , when you have an MCI , make sure you establish command , communications , and staging early to avoid this kind of mess .
