Ten private ambulances and eleven Fire Department rescues had been called to
the scene, and were soon busy assisting the evacuees. Although many were treated on
site with oxygen for smoke inhalation, most refused to be transported to a hospital. One
firefighter incurred a minor facial burn injury and was treated and later released.
As residents exited the building, they converged on the triage area, seeking treatment.
The demands of the victims overwhelmed the rescue crews, who provided immediate
attention to those victims requiring critical care. Many of the residents waited in
the immediate area for assistance, crowding the treatment area.
Employing the Med-Tag Triage system, paramedics attached colored triage tags
to patients, designating the priority of treatment. Red tags identify critical patients who
require immediate attention; yellow tags indicate patients who require attention within
an hour. Green tags are used for lower priority patients who do not have life threatening injuries (often referred to as the “walking wounded”). Many of the “green tag” victims
went to the treatment area when directed to do so, but lost patience and walked away
from the area when they were not immediately attended to.
At the start of the incident ten private ambulances were assembled in a staging
area for use as transport vehicles. During the incident, some members of the ambulance
crews left their vehicles and joined the evacuees who were wandering around the fire
scene, rendering their ambulances unavailable for transport. Sixteen victims were transported
to the local trauma unit, most of them in Miami Fire Department rescue and
squad trucks. This overtaxed fire department EMS personnel by decreasing the number
of available units and personnel at the scene. The trauma center was nearby and turnaround
time was short.
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