Two NY firefighter/EMTs were assaulted by patients during a call Wednesday.
Rush Fire/EMS responded to a traffic accident call just after 7:30 a.m., the department said in a statement. When crews arrived, an assistant chief noticed that a man and woman were unconscious in the car and called an advance life support unit.
"We noticed that both occupants were unresponsive," firefighter/EMT Joshua Gretzinger told WHAM-TV. "One of them was turning blue, hardly breathing. So, our mind immediately goes to, she’s having a severe medical problem."
Attempts to wake up the two were successful, but when the man and woman regained consciousness, they attacked the firefighters, according to the department. Another fire crew arrived to help get the incident under control, and firefighters eventually called for police to step up its response.
"He’s punching, scratching," Gretzinger told WHAM. "That’s when the female wakes up. She climbs over him. She’s yelling and screaming. At that point, I feel a sting on my arm. I look down. She’s latched onto my arm."
The man jumped back into the car and was able to get it, the department said. He drove for about 300 feet, stopped and then backed up at a high speed. The woman jumped into an open passenger window, and they sped off.
"We ran," Gretzinger told WHAM. "Everybody that was in his direct line got out of the way. It wasn’t until I heard somebody just kind of yell ‘Move’—I look up, I’m restraining the female, I look up, and this car’s more or less coming at me."
State police and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office later caught up with the two behind the Chase Farm stand, and Dominique Lippa, 24, and Daniel Erwin, 30 were arrested and charged with burglary and assault. Between fleeing firefighters and their apprehension, the man and woman allegedly tried to break into a home before being scared off, according to the department.
Gretzinger and firefighter Zac Dubois were injured in the mele with the man and woman. They were checked out and will be OK, the department added.
