Video cameras have been installed in three of the Baldwin service's emergency vehicles to monitor drivers, patients and accident scenes as part of a regional safety initiative of the Emergency Medical Service Institute in Point Breeze.

"The public wants everyone to be accountable for their actions and the cameras allow for that," said Lt. Todd Plunkett of the Baldwin service.

He said three people benefit from the cameras: the ambulance driver, the patient and "the person driving on the other side of the street."

The cameras, which cost $1,200 each, log a 20-second video clip when activated by sudden starts and stops, sharp turns or hitting potholes, said institute Director Tom McElree. They capture the inside of the vehicle and accident scenes, making it easy to monitor the driving habits of technicians and the safety of passengers and patients.

McElree said the cameras are part of a safety initiative funded with a $350,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health's Office of Emergency Medical Services. He said plans call for 289 cameras to be placed in ambulances -- each vehicle will have one camera.

"There is typically one ambulance crash per day in the state of Pennsylvania and our goal is to teach technicians to be safer drivers," he said.

The state health department designated the Institute to serve as a regional emergency medical service council for Pittsburgh and Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties. The Institute serves 147 emergency medical services, two medical flight programs, and more than 5,000 emergency medical technicians.

Units participating in the camera program besides Baldwin include emergency medical service units in Cranberry, Elizabeth Township, Jefferson Hills, McCandless-Franklin Park, Munhall, Ross-West View, Saxonburg, White Oak, and Tri-Community South, which serves Bethel Park, South Park and Upper St. Clair.

Tim Butler, deputy administrator of the McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority, said there are currently cameras in two of the five vehicles the authority operates.

"We are currently in the evaluation process," Butler said. "The cameras point out things like vehicle maintenance and to help us with things like driver safety."

The program has been so successful in Baldwin the past two months that the service plans to install them their remaining seven vehicles, Plunkett said. The cameras will come from municipalities that decide not to participate in the ongoing program, with three due by the end of the month, he said.

"We absolutely love the cameras," he said.

By Genea Webb
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, November 24, 2005