'Appreciation and gratitude': Toronto couple thank Calgary fire crew for treating and transporting daughter to hospital
A Toronto couple expressed appreciation and gratitude for the fire fighters who treated and transported their three-year-old daughter to Children's hospital over the weekend.
The child suffered a serious fall and the fire department said it had no choice but to transport the child itself, because there was no ambulance available to help.
"Two days before that we were in Jasper," said Daniel Langdon, the father of Tara. "We were planning to go to Drumheller after Calgary or somewhere along the way. It could have happened anywhere in Alberta. Thank God it happened in Westmount and we were able to get to Alberta Children's Hospital."
Visiting from Toronto, little Tara and her parents were staying with friends in northwest Calgary when the young girl fell, hit her head, then began to seizure.
Calgary Fire fighters arrived first, providing medical care.
They said 911 couldn't provide an ETA on an ambulance.
They called an on-duty doctor to get emergency advice, and were told to get the girl to hospital right away.
She was loaded into the fire truck which isn't equipped for patients.
Paramedics showed up a minute after the fire crew left, 20 minutes after the first 911 call.
The couple said their hearts sank upon learning paramedics weren’t on their way, but are grateful fire crews were ready to do whatever was necessary to help their daughter.
"We're so glad that they did," Langdon said. "We got Alberta Children's Hospital (and) they had a team ready for us, and her oxygen had been really low so it was very critical that she got there as soon as possible, so we were very thankful that she got the care she needed."
The little girl is doing much better. Tuesday, she was smiling with her new friends at the fire hall.
Tonight they are staying with family in Edmonton to give Tara more time to recover.
Yesterday, Calgary Fire chief Steve Dongworth called out Alberta Health Services, calling its EMS response system broken, and that this latest example is proof of that.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.