As a former EMT, I am sometimes asked questions about Emergency Medical Services (EMS). We all have had an ambulance whiz past us, blasting its sirens. Sometimes, however, you may see an ambulance pull out of the place it responded to---"the scene"---without lights and sirens. Hollywood tells us that ambulances always respond to life-threatening emergencies. Thus, if you see an ambulance pulling away from a scene without lights or sirens, you may be worried that someone is deceased. Don't worry: here are some of the various reasons an ambulance will pull out of a scene without lights and sirens.
1. The patient was not transported.
Not all patients want to be transported. Some want to get checked by medical personnel, but they do not necessarily want to go to the hospital. Most of the calls that ambulances respond to are NOT life-threatening. In the United States, ambulance transport can be very expensive, so patients often make their decision to refuse transport based off finances alone.
2. The EMS personnel decided that lights and sirens were not warranted.
As you can probably understand, driving with lights and sirens is inherently dangerous. Ambulance collisions happen regularly! Thus, if a paramedic/EMT deems that a patient's condition is stable and does not require immediate attention, they will go without lights and sirens. Additionally, there may be some emergency cases in which a provider will go without lights or sirens because he believes that type of commotion will worsen the patient's condition. Finally, local and agency protocols may dictate whether or not lights and sirens are allowed given a set of circumstances.
3. They aren't on---yet.
Ambulances may pull out of residential areas without lights and sirens in order to preserve the peace in the neighborhood. This is more likely to happen at night and with no traffic on the road.
4. It is a private ambulance company transporting a patient.
Private ambulance companies are well-known for transporting bed confined patients to medical appointments, such as dialysis. This aspect of EMS is separate from the 911 system.
5. It's another ambulance!
Multiple crews within an agency may respond to a scene. Perhaps more hands are needed for the job, or a paramedic is needed instead of an EMT crew who responded to the scene first. Whatever the reason is, you may have two ambulances pull up to a scene just to check in on one patient.
The Wrap Up: There are several reasons why EMTs and paramedics will leave a scene without lights and sirens. So don't fret!
Ezra Guttmann is a medical student at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Middletown, NY. Views in this blog are of his, only. There is no medical advice on this website.