By Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
NEW YORK 鈥� The FDNY is reviewing the response to a in cardiac arrest to see if more could have been done by the Emergency Medical Technicians who closed out the call when no one came to the door, the Daily News has learned.
Critics charge that the EMTs 鈥� both of whom had less than a year on the job 鈥� should have called a supervisor or the FDNY to take down the door in the hopes of saving Lt. Nelson Seto, 47.
Seto called 911 from his home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, telling the dispatcher that he was having trouble breathing.
The sent an ambulance that arrived within six minutes, but no one answered the door when they arrived, sources with knowledge of the incident said.
When the EMTs told the dispatcher no one was there, the dispatcher called Seto back, but he didn鈥檛 answer. The job was quickly closed and the EMTs were sent to another job, the source said.
A few hours later, a relative showed up at Seto鈥檚 house and found him dead.
The FDNY said Wednesday they are reviewing how the EMTs handled the job to determine if current procedures regarding these responses need to be updated.
鈥淭he FDNY is mourning the loss of an EMS Lieutenant who passed away from a medical incident while off-duty,鈥� an FDNY spokeswoman said in a statement. 鈥淥n Monday morning, FDNY EMTs responded to a call for difficulty breathing, and were unable to make patient contact. This incident is under review, and it is likely there will be changes to FDNY protocols as a result.鈥�
A source with knowledge of FDNY protocols said that there are 鈥渟everal discretionary options鈥� the EMTs could have used, including calling a supervisor and having the door taken down but 鈥渘one of those options were exercised in this case.鈥�
Union members said that the city鈥檚 failure to keep city EMTs and paramedics 鈥� who often leave EMS after a few years to find a better-paying job 鈥� created a perfect storm where both EMTs and the dispatcher who handled Seto鈥檚 call had less than three years on the job combined.
One EMT had only been working at EMS for a year, members claim. The other was a probationary EMT and had been on the job for six months.
FDNY officials were also investigating if the dispatcher had informed the arriving EMTs that Seto was an EMS lieutenant.
Regardless, the EMTs should have taken steps to make sure the person on the other side of the door was OK before leaving, said Vincent Variale, the president of the EMS Officer鈥檚 Union.
鈥淭he city鈥檚 lack of EMS retention, recruitment and staffing is literally killing New Yorkers and now it鈥檚 claimed the life of one of our own,鈥� Variale told the Daily News.
Seto had been with EMS for over 10 years. He had just become a paramedic before he was promoted to lieutenant last year.
When he needed help, he deserved a better response, Variale believes.
鈥淢any members go to these type of calls and don鈥檛 go away,鈥� Variale said on WBAI Wednesday morning. 鈥淵ou . If they need medical treatment, you provide that treatment.
鈥淎t the very least medical treatment should have been provided,鈥� he said.
The two EMTs who responded to Seto鈥檚 home haven鈥檛 been disciplined and were still responding to emergency calls Wednesday as the department looks into how they handled Monday鈥檚 emergency, the spokeswoman said.
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