Ice rain leads to more slips and falls, calls to Parkland Ambulance

“It took me almost two hours to get home from Saskatoon,” Karasiuk said. “I hit the storm just right about 10:15 a.m. in the Osler, Warman area, and then continuing heading north it was a pretty icy adventure.”

Fortunately, according to Karasiuk, Parkland Ambulance did not get called out for any car crashes. That’s not to say everyone drove as safely as possible, however. On his way back from Saskatoon, Karasiuk saw plenty of vehicles in the ditch waiting for tow trucks.

“There were some people who I would say were not driving to road conditions,” Karasiuk said. “I was following a plow at a safe distance and there were people passing both me and the plow. That’s a little bit dangerous to do. There’s a reason why if a plow is going that slowly.”

As for pedestrians, going slowly in a penguin-shuffle style of the walk is recommended when dealing with icy sidewalks or crossings. If you should still slip and fall, Karasiuk said the important thing is to take an extra moment or two to check on yourself.

“The quickest thing is, we want to get up,” Karasiuk said. “But please, for that first 30 seconds or even a minute, just stop and make sure everything is working OK. Wrists, elbows, shrug your shoulders, maybe move your ankles around or flex your knees.”

Karasiuk added in adverse weather, they reduce the number of non-urgent transfers because it’s not safe to make them. He also said patients can expect ambulances to take a little longer to arrive when icy rain starts if they do have to call 911.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP

by Rob Mahon

Ice rain leads to more slips and falls, calls to Parkland Ambulance

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