Northwest Wayne News

As part of it commitment to transparency, the Detroit Fire Department is providing details of an incident from last night involving and EMS paramedic.

At approximately 1:10 AM on Friday, December 1, a paramedic with 6 years with the department was driving an ambulance at Carpenter and Klinger in the city of Hamtramck when he side swiped three parked vehicles. The driver stopped and waited for Hamtramck police to arrive.

At the time of the incident, a Priority 2 patient was in the back of the ambulance and was not injured.

Per DFD protocols, the paramedic was taken to a clinic to be tested and it was determined he was under the influence of alcohol at the time. He was immediately placed on unpaid leave pending further review.

This employee has had no prior accidents or alcohol related incidents.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for the use of alcohol while on duty and will take the appropriate action," said Commissioner Chuck Simms. "We have an outstanding team of EMTs and paramedics at DFD and it's unfortunately that this incident detracts from the lifesaving work they do every day. We have programs and supportive services in place for our employees who may be struggling with issues such as alcohol dependency and we will redouble our efforts to make sure any employee who may need them are aware of how to access them."

Original source can be found here.