Original subtitles

Stanley: we've got some new Problem locations in our area.

Let's start With 1806 north oak.

That's the Plastics company.

Right. A&k molded products.

Now, right here, This west wing--

Using that for storage now.

It's full of Cardboard cartons,

Two rows With aisles in between,

Up to eight feet high.

Now, if we have To use water in there,

As quick as these Bottom cartons get soaked,

This whole stack Is gonna come down.

Now, if you're in there, You can get wiped out.

How heavy are Those cartons?

325 pounds.

More, if they're Soaked in water.

Yeah, you better believe it.

So, wet or dry, They can get you.

So we don't go in there Unless we absolutely have to.

[ sirenlaring

Dispatcher: Station 51. Man trapped.

2218 north hill. 2218 north hill.

Cross street burnside. Time out 1411.

Station 51, ten-four, Kmg-365.

Mcdowell, the fourth Right after lookout drive.

[ sirens blaring ]

[ horn honks ]

Hurry! Hurry! He's hurt!

Hurry!

Come on! Hurry up!

Hurry! Right here! Right in the garage!

Are you his wife?

That's right. He's back in the garage.

Is he badly hurt?I think so.

I've called Dr. Sunderland.

I'll call The filling station.No, edna!

They're just Two blocks away!

Edna, Get out of the way.

I'm just trying To help.

Is he alive?Yeah.

But how do we get This engine off him?

I don't know what we've got That can handle this.

[ siren blaring ]

♪♪

Cap, I'll get a pry bar.Yeah, okay.

Did you call a doctor?

Yes. How bad is he?

Is he coming here?No, he's--

When they won't Tell you, that's bad.

Which one?Edna, will you Be quiet?

This is terrible!Which hospital?

Rampart.I heard the crash...

Rampart emergency This is rescue 51. How do you read me?

51, this is Rampart emergency. Read you loud and clear.

Rampart, we have An injured man.

He's breathing But unconscious. He's not accessible.

I can't tell you anything Further right now. Please stand by.

Ten-four, 51. Standing by.

Stand back. Watch it. Watch it.

If we try to muscle This thing off of him And it slips, he's had it.

Let's try to take some of The pressure off him with this.

Okay. Slip it in.

Hoist it up.

All right. Hook it in.

All right.

No.

It's not gonna work. I can't get leverage.

The bar's not Long enough.

Look. We could chance Rigging a hoist On another beam.

No. This one broke. We don't want to Drop it on him twice.

What about taking those Two broken pieces,

Putting 'em together And shoving it through?

It'd be longer.Yeah, it might work.

Okay. Easy, now. All together.

[ strained ] One, two, three.

Hurry! Hurry up!

[ struggling ] I--

Okay. Now, hold it, And I'll block it.

Edna: hurry!Ladies, please Step outside.

They know what They're doing.

I need some Information. Just step outside.

All right, Now lower it down.

Okay. Down easy.

Lower it down.

Okay, that'll take some Of the weight off him.

Yeah, well...

Now that we've got The pressure off of him,

How do we get him Out of there?

How about a jack On each fender Under the pry bar?

That won't work. This fender's Starting to buckle.

Cap, this beam Looks good.

I figure that'll hold. What do you think?

Yeah, I think it will.

Let's, uh, push The car under, huh?

Chet, get in front Of the wheel.

Johnny, you get The creeper.

How we doin'?Okay!

Okay. Brake off.

Okay, here we go. Real slow.

Real slow.

Slow. Slow.

Easy. Easy, now.

You got it?Watch his legs, now.

Not too fast.

Okay, easy.

Okay, we're almost There now.

Little more, Little more.

Hold it.

Dr. Early?

Oh, dr. Sunderland, How are you?

Fine. Do you happen To know if they Brought in a man

By the name of Charles phillips?

Let's find out.

Dix, do we have A charles phillips here?

No.

We've met before, Doctor.

I'm kelly brackett.Good to see you.

He should be coming in Any minute.

He's a patient of mine, And I'm probably going To need help.

Whatever we can do.What's the problem?

According to his wife, He was working on his car.

The engine fell on him.

Desoto: A little more.

Okay, that'll do it. Brake off. Chet.

Let's move it back. Easy.

Let's see.

Very gently.

Gently, easy.

Is he all right?!Get out of the way.

I just don't understand! He's your husband!

Getting excited isn't Going to help chuck.

How long has he been Pinned under the car?

Seven, eight minutes Before you got here.

Rampart, This is rescue 51.

All right, nurse. They can take care Of him in here.

Gage: rampart, This is rescue 51.

Yeah, right. Okay.

Go ahead, 51.

Rampart, we have a male,

Approximately 35 years old,

Approximately 170 pounds.

He's been pinned under An automobile engine

For 12 minutes.

He's currently Cyanotic.

51, is the patient's Name phillips?

That's affirmative, Rampart.

There's a depression At the base of the skull.

Dix, Get dr. Sunderland.

Vital signs are... B.P., 80 over 40.

Respiration shallow And labored.

Pulse 120 and weak.

Depressed fracture on the Occipital area of the skull,

Probable broken ribs. Request permission

To start I.V. With ringer's lactate.

Affirmative, 51. Ten-four.

We have phillips. The paramedics are Working on him right now.

Is the ambulance There yet?

I don't know.

51, has the ambulance Arrived?

[ siren blaring ]

That's affirmative, rampart.

The minute they Have him stabilized,

They can Bring him in.

I want to Bring him in now.

I don't think That's advisable.

I don't know how Familiar you are

With our Paramedic program.

What I've read, What I've heard.

In general, we prefer To stabilize

On the scene Before transport.

In general, maybe.

It works, doctor. Believe me.

This man Is seriously injured.

He belongs in A hospital environment,

In the hands of doctors, Not lying on the ground

With some half-trained Firemen fiddling with him.

Now, that's not The situation at all.

They're very Competent men.

But more important, They're making Every move

Under my direct Supervision.

They're doing The same things

We'd do for him Initially if we Brought him in here.

Only difference is-- And it's a critical Difference--

They're doing it 15 Or 20 minutes earlier.

I don't share your confidence In remote-control medicine.

I don't think this is The time for us to bump Heads over procedure.

Agreed. So let me cut through. The man is my patient.

No, sir. Not until They bring him Through that door.

At the moment, He's my patient.

Technically.

Well, I'll feel a lot better When he's in here.

Rampart, rescue 51.

Patient is breathing On his own.

B.P., 110 over 80.

Keep him well-ventilated And bring him in.

Ten-four. We're bringing him in.

Thank you.

Sure, sure. Everything's Going to be fine.

Hold on. See? Everything's fine.

Yeah, I know. I know. Will you drive me To the hospital?

Oh, certainly! I'll go get the car!

This is terrible! This is terrible!

Are you all right To drive?

I'll take the squad on in. I'll meet you later.

Hold it--it's okay. I'll take care of her.

[ crying ]

[ siren wailing ]

[ siren wailing ]

A-positive.

Thanks, mary. I just Wanted to double-check.

And cancel my appointments For the rest of the afternoon.

Right.

Miss mccall?

This is phillips's Blood type.

I'd like a couple pints Standing by.

Right away, doctor.

[ siren wailing ]

[ coughing ]

[ coughing, gagging ]

Squad 51 To rampart emergency.

Rampart emergency, Come in.

Brackett, isn't it About time that we--

Any minute now.

Rampart emergency, Do you read?

[oughing

Stop the ambulance! There's something wrong With the radio.

The antenna's gone!

Contact your dispatcher.

Tell him to phone Rampart emergency, Dr. Kelly brackett.

Tell him my patient's Aspirating,

That we stopped, And I'm inserting An esophageal airway.

It'll take a few minutes.Make that a few Minutes less.

This is 17 en route To rampart base.

We have a problem here.

Dr. Early, Do you have any idea What the hold-up is?

Sometimes they hit Heavy traffic.

Dr. Brackett, Can you get Through to them

On that thing While they're moving?

See that she takes these Right away, gladys.

Generally, yes.

Would you do it now, Please?

If they have a problem, They'll call us.

I want to find out What the hold-up is.

Rescue 51, this is Rampart emergency.

How do you read?

51, do you read me?

Come in, 51!

They probably don't Have the set on.

[hone rings ]

Rampart emergency, Miss mccall.

Hold on. Dr. Brackett,

It's the ambulance Dispatcher.

This is dr. Brackett.

Okay, give me a hand With the oxygen.

That's about all I can Tell you right now.

So what it comes Down to is,

He's sitting by the side Of the road somewhere, Totally unsupervised.

He's doing exactly What I would have Told him to do.

We could have had phillips Here in a hospital...

25 minutes ago.

I hope at some point, Your fireman decides

To stop gallivanting around And lets us do our job.

Hit him.[ oxygen hisses ]

Hit him again.[ oxygen hisses ]

Hit him one more time.[ oxygen hisses ]

All right, let's move!

[ siren wailing ]

Roy.

How long before you Got him breathing On his own?

A couple minutes.

All set?

Bye.

Oh, um, I want To talk to you.

Just you.

I'm dr. Sunderland. That's my patient you Brought in, finally.

What were your Last instructions?

To transport, right?Yeah, that's right.

Instead, you stopped

So you could have A chance to play doctor.

The patient started To aspirate.

And our equipment Wasn't working. I had To use my own judgment.

Do you somehow Have the notion you can Treat a man better

In the back Of an ambulance Than we can here?

And what qualifies you To override explicit,

Clear-cut instructions From a doctor?

I was told by a doctor

To keep him well-ventilated. You can't put an airway--

You could've brought Him straight on in. Or is that too simple?

Ever occur to you That delay you caused

Could put that man's Life in jeopardy?

Doctor, I don't believe Any of this is called for.

If you have anything to say, Say it to me.

I've already said it.

Don't take it Too seriously. He's upset.

Is there a problem?

If there was, You'd have heard About it from me.

Dr. Brackett?

How is the patient?

Critical.

Squad 51 available.

Squad 51.

What's wrong?

I may have made A mistake.

[ engine starts ]

When you started back, How long did it take you

Before you got back To the hospital?

Two or three minutes. I don't know.

All right, Here's the hospital.

Where'd you stop?

[ sighs ] Somewhere in here.

I--I don't know For sure.

All right.

Three minutes Here, easy,

In order to get him Back and breathing On his own--

Hmm. He'd have Brain damage.

You're guessing.

Yeah, well, I'll Tell you one thing.

I would've done Exactly what you did.

That still doesn't Make it right.

Where's desoto?He's right--

Hmm. I'll get him.

Hi, dixie. Is there Any word on that man

We brought in This afternoon--phillips?

No, not yet. He's still up in o.R.

I'll call you as soon As I hear anything.

All right. Thanks, dix.

Gage: hey, captain wants To finish the drill.

When are you gonna stop Sweating this thing?

I can't help it.

Look, brackett would've Been down on you Like a ton of bricks

If he even halfway Thought you'd goofed.

Yeah.[ thud ]

But it's what I think.

That's what I have to live with.

I'm not sure.

[ alarm blares ]

Dispatcher: squad 51, Unknown type rescue.

Meet the man at The intersection of route 27

And the summit fire trail.

Route 27 and The summit fire trail.

Time out 1618.

Squad 51, ten-four. Kmg-365.

[ siren blaring ]

Gage: Unknown type rescue. Wonder what we have.

Well, we'll find out Soon enough.

Yeah.

Look at this.

Look, follow us up!

Wait a minute! What's the problem?

This old bull's got doug Pinned up in the pasture.

How badly is he hurt?I don't know. We can't get near him.

One of you wait here. There'll be an Ambulance comin' by.

You stay here, gil.Okay, chuck.

[ siren wailing

Hey, doug!

What happened, man?

We go in, ride around, Take turns.

Playing chicken With the bull?Uh-huh.

The bull slammed into him, Then tossed the bike In the air.

When doug tried to run, He gored him again.

Every time he moves, The bull charges.

[ snorts ]

It looks Pretty calm now.

Well, I don't think Either one of us

Are an authority On that sort of thing.

[ bellows ]

Why can't we get the cops Up here to shoot him?

Well, what are We gonna do in The meantime?

I have an idea. Let's use the squad.What?

You open the gate For us, huh?

[ snorts ]

Where are you hurt?Just get me out of here!

All right. Where are you hurt? Right here?

My leg! And up here In my arm.

Up on your arm?

Yeah. Just a little bit.

It's broken.

Look what he Did to my bike!

Run him down! Kill him! Go ahead!

Not a chance.

Look, if you can Make a u-turn

And get the passenger door On my side,

We can take him out In the squad.

Look. You're gonna Have to get up.

[ siren blaring ]

How you doin', doug?[ grunts ]

Hey, fellas, Would you go back And get my bike?

You gotta be Kiddin'.

Listen, I worked All summer for that thing.

Wanna go back and tell The bull about it?

Come on. Let me have A look at that leg.

Right in here, johnny.

Roy, I've been Tying to call you.

Mr. Phillips died About 20 minutes ago.

Dispatcher: division 3, Switch to frequency five.

[ whistles ]

Hey, roy?

Come on.

That's twice today.

What's so interesting On the bulletin board?

Oh, they have a couple Of openings at 98's.

Mm-hmm. Right.

That's a, uh, Brushfire station.

Yeah.

They don't, uh-

They don't have Paramedics up there.

That's right.

You're gonna Quit the program?

I talked to joanne About it.

Yeah, I think so.

How come?

Well, you know...

I've been doing this For a long time.

Oh, come on.

Is it the guy we lost The other day?

You still kicking Yourself for that?Yeah.

There wasn't any Little part of that That was your fault.

Maybe.

There's no "Maybe" About it.

Come on, roy. Don't do Something dumb!

Okay, george, come on. Let's get this off.

That's the way.

Nurse mccall--

Turn loose. It'll come off.

Miss mccall?Mm-hmm?

I'm awful thirsty.

I know it, george. I know it.

No, no, no. I'm thirsty.

Just a little Drink, huh, doc?

George.Oh, hi, doc.

What is it this time?

Oh, same as Last time.

And the time Before that.

And every time.

Kel, did you know roy desoto's Thinking of quitting?

The fire department?

No just the paramedic Program.

John gage told me.

Doc? Doc, I'm as Dry as a bone.

We'll take care Of that, george.

No, no, no. Just a little glass.

I keep telling you-- You can't beat The distilleries.

They can turn it out Faster than you can Lap it up.

Did, uh-- Did he say why?

Yeah. Dr. Sunderland.

He's wrong, kel. All the way.

I know.

Dix...

Let's give george His usual routine.

Okay, george.

Oh, usual routine, Huh, doc?

Well, at least I'm consistent.

You're gonna have To stop drinking.

One of these days, You're not gonna make it.

No, no, no, no, no! It's this arm's turn.

Why not, george? Why not?

Is desoto outside?

Yeah, think I Saw him come in.

Hey, doc, How about that drink?

You just lie there And relax.

I'll look in on you In a minute.

I want to talk to him.Okay.

I know you got time For a cup of coffee.

Okay.

I caught the part

About jeopardizing The life of his Patient.

What else did Sunderland say?

Well--

Look, I'm not gonna Run in and make a fuss.

I just don't want To lose you.

I appreciate that, Doctor.

So if he said something That's throwing you,

I wanna know about it.

He said that man should Have been treated

Here in the hospital, Not in an ambulance.

And that I'm not Qualified to make that Kind of a decision.

I saw the preliminary Coroner's report.

Phillips died Of cranial injuries.

There wasn't Anything you did, Or could have done,

That made the slightest Difference.

Does that clear it up?It helps.

Okay, I lucked out This time.I don't follow you.

When I told The ambulance driver To pull over,

I didn't stop to think Of where we were,

The time factor Involved, any of that.

I just Started grabbing.

You darn well should've. You had a critical situation.

But the next time, I could do the same thing,

And I might not Be so lucky.

And neither will The patient.

Roy, I'm a better judge

Of your ability Than you are.

I don't think luck had Anything to do with it.

You know this Better than I do.

You go along Month after month,

And it's pretty much The same thing.

It's clear-cut. There's no sweat.

And then, All of a sudden,

Something like this Pops up,

And you begin to realize All over again...

We carry a lot Of responsibility.

And you get uptight Sometimes about Making a mistake.

A serious mistake.

I'm scared of it.

Well, so am I.

A certain amount of fear Is healthy.

Too much of it, And you're crippled.

Roy, there are times In emergency medicine

When you just have to move With the full knowledge

That you may not be right.

Or you can go To the library,

Read the relevant literature, Call in consultants,

Stand there, weigh The pros and cons,

The possibilities, The probabilities,

Or what they've been doing Successfully somewhere else.

And by that time, Your patient's dead.

Every once in awhile, You'll lie awake at night

And look inside your head And kick yourself.

And you won't remember The people you've helped.

I think the trouble is, You're asking yourself The wrong question.

No, no. Now I don't follow you.

You're asking yourself, "Am I fallible?"

And the answer's coming back, "You better believe it."

Well, I'm not infallible. Nobody on that floor is.

So why should you be?

Look, is there anybody Here right now

Who can do the job Better than I can?

That's the right question In a tight situation.

And if the answer's no, You better pick up the ball And run with it.

For the sake Of the patient.

Excuse me.

George wasn't kidding About being thirsty.

What's the problem?The minute I turned my back,

He drank his I.V. Bottle.

That's one way of getting The fluid into him.

Start him on another one. I'll be right in.

Okay.

I better get on it.

That's about the end Of the ten-cent Lecture anyway.

Thanks.

Roy, if you do quit,

You're gonna be replaced By another paramedic.

Ask yourself One question--

Can he do the job Better than you?

Well, that's somethin' To think about.

Fair enough.

Ridiculous.Ted, as long As we're here--

Miss mccall Is there a room available?

Yes, 1.

Ted, why don't you Go on in and sit down?

Ten minutes--anything To avoid an argument.

Would you help The doctor, please?

Dr. Sunderland, Anything I can do?

That's dr. Eccles. I had him upstairs with me On a consultation.

He began to complain He wasn't feeling well.

Indigestion, he says,

But I want to get A good look at him.

Cardiac?It's possible.

I want to make sure.

I'm going to need Some moral support

Because he's going To kick and scream Every step of the way.

We'll see about that.

Give her a minute.

Take off your clothes.No, no, no.

You might as well Face it. They have To come off.

I'm a doctor.Not in here, you're not.

Right now You're a patient,

And I outrank you, And I love it.

I've handled Doctors before,

And they're the world's Worst patients.

You have to Treat 'em like babies.

You'll do anything To get your clammy claws

On a colleague, won't you?

We'd better set up An e.K.G.Yeah.

Do you have any Substernal chest pains?

It's a tightening-- You know, pressure.

It's that chili I had for lunch, larry.

It effects me this way Half the time.

Oh, you're kidding.

No, I'm not. Hold still.

[ sighs ] All right. But I warn you--

I've got to be on that First tee in 40 minutes.

There'll be No golf today, ted.

[ beeping ]

Looks like an acute Anterior infarction.

Yeah.

Start an I.V. With A lidocaine drip,

Plus a 100-milligram Bolus.

It's bad, huh?Mm-hmm.

Any question About it, larry?

I'm afraid not.

Well, if I had My pick of a spot

To have a myocardial Infarction,

I'd pick a hospital Every time.

You couldn't find A better place.

We're right on top Of it, too.

Oh, I guess I'm gonna be In your clutches after all,

Whether I like it or not.

Just like I told you.

Hey. Larry?Yeah.

Larry? Ohh!

He's fibrillating! 400 watt seconds, joe.

Clear.

Ventricular rhythm Rate about 30.

No respiration.No pulse.

Isoproterenol?Yeah.

Joe.

[ steady tone continues ]

One amp Sodium bicarb.

Call for an Anesthesiologist.

There he goes again.

[ grunts ]

Clear.

[ steady tone continues ]

Womann.A.: Dr. Early, dr. Early.

Was he married?

Yeah, I'll have To call his wife.

Just couldn't get That pressure up.

Well, we tried Everything in the book.

Maybe someday We'll get a better book.

Was everything In order, doctor?

Everything Available?

Proper medical Environment?

And still you lost The patient.Dix--

Kel, I'm too tired And whipped!

I only talked to him For a couple of minutes,

But he seemed Like a nice guy.

Yes, he was.

And I'm mad, And I don't care!

What about?

You chewed out a paramedic The other day.

Oh, that.

Dixie: and he's Thinking of quitting.

Doctor, he takes Care of people

In places that would Curl your hair.

When was the last time

You risked your life For a patient?

Well, they do it With some regularity.

Doctor, you were Ten miles out of line.

Womann.A.: Miss mccall, miss mccall.

I thought nurses Resented paramedics.

Not that one.

They're highly Motivated men, doctor.

Very conscientious. And she knows it.

I didn't realize.

[ sniffs ]

[ alarm blares ]

Dispatcher: station 51, Engine 95, engine 105,

Truck 107, battalion 14.

Structure fire At 956 north edgemont.

956 north edgemont. Cross street tait.

Time out 0227.

[ sirens wailing ]

[ onlookers chattering ]

Okay, run in back With an inch and a half.

Protect the exposures And hit the fire.

This is all I could get.

Just some old dresses. No importa.

Oh, my god.

Who started it? What started it?

Will you get back, Please?

Thank you.It must've Started somewhere.

Everything's Gonna be all right.

[ klaxon sounding ]

Dispatcher: 407. Child not breathing.

8947 12th avenue.

What about the-- Where's tomas?

Isn't he here?

Tomas! Tomas!

He was here Just a second ago!

Tomas?

[ speaking spanish ]

[ll shouting in spanish ]

Make sure He stays here.

Let me have another inch And a half on the south side Of the house right now.

There's probably A kid inside, cap.

The father thinks He went in after his dog.Come on.

This man's gonna Take over the line.

We got a kid inside. Come on.

Good luck.All right.

No, come on. Come on. Bring an extension ladder!

Let's set it up Over here.

Tomas!

Hold it. Hold it. Get back, please.

Come on. Get back. Get back, please.

Please! Please!Tomas!

Get away!

Okay. All right.

Request an ambulance For us, please.

Rampart, This is rescue 51.

Bracket: 51, this is rampart.

We have A young male,

Seven or eight Years old.

Victim of smoke Inhalation.

No vital signs Possible right now.

We're administering Oxygen.

Are there Any other injuries?

No, none apparent, Rampart.

Looks like he's Coming to right now.

Continue oxygen as necessary And bring him on in.

Ten-four, rampart.

He's gonna be okay.

Pablo! Pablo!

Mijo, mijo.[ chuckling ]

Pablo!

[ barking ]

There! Yeah! Yeah!

Okay, you can wipe Away those tears.

Hey! Look! Look!

Huh? There you are!

See? I told you. Not only took care of Tomas, but pablo as well.

I told you They were good. Esta bien.

Do you know what it's like To work a brushfire station?

Yeah, I think so.

During the summer, During the dry season,

You're running Yourself ragged.

You get a fire And you'll work 48 hours, 72 hours,

A week, at a stretch.

Sounds kind of Challenging.

And a fourth reason--this is the fifth.

It's the most Dangerous job In the department.

Did you know that?Yeah.

Well, how can you Even think of Going up to 98's?

I'm not. I made up my mind on that A couple hours ago.

You let me go On and on with this?

Getting the confirmation I made the right decision-- That's comforting.

Beside that, You had a lot of reasons I'd never even thought of.

You know, for two cents I'd transfer myself.

[ taps on hood ]

Ha ha ha.

♪♪