A potentially life-saving act by a volunteer firefighter in Virginia caused him to be suspended.
Volunteer firefighters Capt. James Kelley and Sgt. Virgil Bloom were called to a Fredericksburg, Virginia, location near a McDonald's restaurant around 11 a.m. Feb. 27 when an 18-month-old girl had a seizure.
They were were first to arrive at the location.
Kelley said the girl's father, David Nunamaker, was standing outside of his car, holding Lena, his daughter, and panicking. She was pale.
WTTG reported that Kelley told the Bloom to turn on the truck engine, because the child needed to go to a hospital.
Kelley said he made the decision based his last call for a location of the nearest medic, which he said was 10 to 15 minutes away.
Kelley put Lena in a row of rear-facing bucket seats in the back of the truck and padded her with coats, strapping a seatbelt on her.
Kelley placed an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, and she appeared to improve in color.
The Washington Post reported that on the way to the hospital, an ambulance radioed the truck and asked to meet to switch Lena to the ambulance and take her to the hospital.
Kelley said he turned down the offer, because meeting would have meant going in the opposite direction of the nearest hospital.
"When I arrived, my daughter was being treated in the emergency room," Nunamaker said. "She was having another seizure."
The seizure soon stopped, and after some continued monitoring, Lena was transferred to VCU Medical Center and later discharged.
By Feb. 28, Nunamaker said Lena was doing well.
But Kelley and Bloom were suspended by Stafford County.
Kelley said it was because the fire truck is a "non-transport unit" and did not have the required restraints to carry a person who needs medical attention.
"My wife and I feel terrible for the fallout that has happened to these two gentlemen," Nunamaker said. "They simply had the best interests for our daughter's care in mind. We are extremely thankful they made the decisions they did, and that our daughter is back home with us doing well."
But at a press conference held around 3:30 p.m. Monday, the Stafford County Fire and Rescue Department announced the volunteer firefighters will go back to operational status by 4 p.m.
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