"I guess we'll get everybody there..."

Drowning Causes Controversy Over Response Time
Watch the report here ... We would like to hear your take on this event.

(KSDK) - A 45-year-old St. Louis man drowned Monday night at Glen Echo Country Club in north St. Louis County, officials said.

Barry Dorsey's death has caused a divide in the Normandy Fire Protection District. At issue is whether his life could have been saved if the ambulance had gone to the correct location.

Dorsey, of the 5800 block of Pamplin Avenue, was pronounced dead just before 9:30 p.m., Normandy Police Chief Doug Lebert said.Lebert said Dorsey, an employee, was participating in the country club's employee appreciation night.

Dorsey was dragged out of the pool by bystanders before being administered CPR by Normandy police, Lebert said.

Lebert raised issue with the response time of the Normandy Fire District. He said an ambulance dispatched at the same time as other emergency responders went to Norwood Hills Country Club in Jennings.

Lebert said the ambulance's arrival at Glen Echo was delayed by 14 minutes.

"The main thing is patient care. Did the patient have delayed patient care? The answer is, 'No.'"

(The firefighters) did the same thing that the ambulance would have did if it had been there," said Normandy Deputy Chief Airest Wilson.

(Click here to listen to the entire 911 call)

Lebert said he was "extremely disgusted with the continued decline of service from the Normandy Fire District."
He said it was "a direct result of the Fire District Board firing good employees and replacing the terminated employees with part-time, less qualified personnel."

"They're putting people on the streets that are not half as qualified as the people they were taking off the streets. ... We just want to make sure that they're qualified and can do the job," said Professional Firefighters of Eastern Missouri Local 2665 spokesperson Chuck Coyne.

The fire board said it intentionally dispatched crews to both locations because it wasn't sure where it should respond.A 911 tape released Tuesday refutes the claim. The dispatcher clearly states the address for the ambulance crew.
The Normandy Fire Protection District said it would review its response to the drowning.

Whats the lesson learned here you ask? How can we use this for training? 1. If you're not exactly sure where you should be going... Then ask the dispatcher specific questions to confirm you are responding to the correct address. 2. Never lie or mislead the citizens you serve and the media. In this case the tapes tell the truth. 3. Don't deflect accusations of incompetency to non related issues. Take the hit. Investigate what happened then learn from it.. don't deny and don't deflect.

So, How many public pools do you have in your first due? Can you name them and their locations?