From Rush:
Imagine you’re being rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound. You’re in an ambulance, hurtling through city streets,
sirens blaring, with paramedics performing cpr. Then, suddenly, the engine cuts off, and the emergency vehicle rolls to a dead stop. The minutes tick by as the emts call for backup and await the arrival of an ambulance that runs. But the replacement comes too late — your ambulance gurney has become your deathbed. That’s exactly what happened to a Washington, D.C. resident involved in a shootout with police, according to D.C. television station wusa9. An epa-mandated device that supposedly “burns off diesel toxins” disapproved of an emissions reading, so it forced the ambulance into shutdown mode. Seven minutes later, the patient was transferred to a second ambulance, but was d.o.a. at the hospital. Wouldn’t it make sense for emergency vehicles to be exempted from these stupid diesel emissions devices? Sighs D.C. Deputy Fire Chief John Donnelly, “We’re not in a position to fight the epa regulations and we’re not even going to try.” Because if it’s a matter of life or death, pick the option that reduces your carbon footprint.