[talaxandra]

A man has died after paramedics from a broken-down ambulance were forced to run almost two blocks to try to revive him in Melbourne's southeast.

Ambulance Employees Australia (AEU) general secretary Steve McGhie confirmed a 56-year-old man died from a cardiac arrest before paramedics could reach him at his Elwood home.

Mr McGhie said an ambulance broke down about two blocks from the house about 6pm (AEST), forcing paramedics to run with life-saving equipment, including a defibrillator.

Read article in it's entirety:

http://au.news.yahoo.com/071019/2/14pzi.html

[oramar]

When you get right down to it, even under best of circumstances cars, trucks and ambulances can break down. Even more frequent in US is that an ambulance is on it's way to emergency and gets involved in accident. Then another ambulance is dispatched but there is a delay. Bless those medics for trying to get to man on foot.

[awsmom8]

Two if my most nightmarish calls as a paramedic occurred when an ambulance overheated on a divided mountain road with a level one trauma aboard. It took over an hour to get another ambulance there as they had to drive down the hill then drive back up. Due to the fog and terrain a helicopter could not be called. The other nightmare occured when we had a severe asthmatic aboard on a rural, dirt road 32 miles long in the mountains when the headlights on the ambulance went dead. There was no radio contact to call for help due to the terrian so we creeped along and just before we hit the highway they came back on. Being a medic was not a job but an adventure!

[Grace Oz]

What an unfortunate set of circumstances.
All credit to those ambo's for hot footing it carrying all that equipment.
Bad luck can strike anywhere, anytime to anyone.

[nyapa]

Those poor paramedics! How would you feel?! I understand machines break down, but if there is an agreed used by date, and the ambulances are over that period, then shouldn't the owners of the ambulances ie the Vic Health Dept, be held liable? I bet the investigation will find some poor mechanic at fault...

[danh3190]

It's very sad but it does happen. I've had an ambulance break down on me a couple times in my 26 years on the trucks and I've been stuck in snow or mud a couple times. Fortunately never in circumstances as bad as a Level I trauma or a cardiac arrest. We're a suburban service so we can usually get another ambulance pretty promptly.