Denver Health Medical Center is changing its procedures for responding to structure fires after it took an ambulance 15 minutes to arrive at a house fire that sent a Denver family to the hospital on Tuesday.
Shortly after 4 a.m., paramedics from the hospital and Denver Fire were sent to house fire at 455 S. Eliot St.
The first paramedic arrived within seven minutes of being dispatched. The paramedic helped Denver Fire crews administer life-saving care to the family of four, three of which had to be rescued from the blaze.
Pat Garcia, 47, and her two children 15-year-old Diana Mendez and 7-year-old Juan Alvarado – who called 911 after the fire started and were identified by 9News – were critically injured in the fire.
Mendez’ husband, Julio Garcia, got out of the house on his own.
While the paramedic arrived within seven minutes, the Denver Health ambulance needed to take the victims to the hospital took 15 minutes to arrive after being dispatched to the home.
“We regret that the response time of our ambulance overshadowed what should have been a proud moment for the Denver Fire Department and our emergency response system,” the hospital said in an a statement.
Following an internal review, Denver Health, whose response times are typically within the standards set by the city, will now send both paramedics and an ambulance to structure fires reported to Denver paramedics.
