Proportionate response

Six, maybe seven, police vehicles raced through the village—witnesses said it happened so fast they couldn’t say for sure how many. A motorcycle, an SUV, at least three marked cars, perhaps more. Followed by two ambulances. A good portion of the County’s emergency services assets rolled through Wellington on Friday afternoon— at high speed. Sirens screaming and lights flashing.

Surely, something very bad had happened.

procession on its way back toward Picton. First the motorcycle. Then the SUV sped by. Traffic pulled over. Then two police cruisers. Two ambulances. Followed by another cruiser. A moment later, yet another cruiser. All sirens. All lights. Racing down the middle of the road—insisting that every other vehicle give way. This was bad.

Returning to Wellington, we braced ourselves for a terrible accident scene. A violent crime. We imagined a peaceful start to Labour Day weekend ruined by tragedy.

What we found was— nothing. No emergency vehicles. No yellow tape. No restoration crew. Nothing.

We contacted the OPP detachment in Picton. It was a medical call, we were told. One person had been transported to hospital from the west side of Wellington. No other information was available.

Pounds of anxiety slipped away, replaced by relief that we wouldn’t be called upon to report a tragedy. Not today.

But wait a minute. This didn’t add up. Why was so much of Prince Edward County’s emergency services’ hardware and resources deployed for a medical call in Wellington? Wellington on the Lake is a largely senior’s neighbourhood on the west side of the village. Sadly, there are frequent calls for medical attention in this community. The response is never like this.

Is it a new protocol? Some folks in Wellington on the Lake may be heartened by this prospect. Pedestrians less so.

Perhaps it was a mistake. Perhaps someone panicked, exaggerated the seriousness of the issue making the call? Why else send two ambulances and crew?

That, however, doesn’t explain why the entourage raced back to Picton down the middle of the road. Once on the scene, police and ambulance personnel would have assessed the situation as a medical call for a single individual and adjusted their response accordingly, wouldn’t they?

On a Friday afternoon before the long weekend, our roads and sidewalks are navigated by visitors—driving, cycling and walking through beautiful Prince Edward County on the last few days of summer. They don’t expect to be pushed off the road by oncoming emergency vehicles. Or to dodge police vehicles as they cross the street.

My concern isn’t their expectations necessarily, rather their ability to respond to the alarming prospect of a procession of emergency vehicles demanding they get out of the way. My concern, and the concern of witnesses to the spectacle Friday afternoon, is that any margin of safety has been erased by the decision of these folks to barrel across the County.

I am certain they are capable and welltrained drivers, but at the speed they moved through this village—the emergency responders demanded everyone in their path act correctly and to get out of the way. In an older community, in a tourist community, that is a flawed operating premise.

We have many folks who have trouble moving around. Others who don’t respond well to sudden stress. We have many folks, simply unfamiliar with our roads, our rules and our customs.

When emergency responders make choices like those on Friday, they risk creating their own tragedy. We all want these folks to respond quickly when it is our loved one at risk—but not to put others at risk.

So far we have not received an explanation that warrants the response observed on Friday. Perhaps one will come in the days ahead.

In its place, rumours and speculation abound. Stories are created from fragments of information—and circulate rapidly. Without an official response, speculation hardens into perceived fact.

Events such as this reinforce the belief among some that emergency responders operate under rules and oversight unto their own. That they aren’t accountable to the citizens of this community.

We need answers. We need to know what warranted the display of emergency services on Friday afternoon. Or we need to know it was a mistake and that corrective measures are being taken.

Otherwise, the chasm widens.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca