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AN ambulanceman's job is never done. He is on call 24 hours a day and if he has any free time, even on holidays, he still answers the call to duty.
Take for example Ambulanceman Ng Kei-long, who took a holiday to Taiwan with friends last October. One wet afternoon their bus was caught in a bad traffic jam on the Ruijin Highway at Jiufen. A coach ahead had skidded and plunged down a steep slope.
Spurred by the instinct of a professional ambulanceman, Mr Ng immediately rushed to the scene of the accident where he saw a coach had flipped over, lying askew against the steep slope. With permission from the incident commander he joined the other rescuers, bringing along a torch and some first aid equipment. Risking their lives, the rescuers entered the coach still hanging unsteadily on the slope.
''It was a great mess inside the bus,'' Mr Ng recalled, ''and during the search, we found several injured passengers trapped inside.''
Only then did Mr Ng realise that the victims in the bus were a Hong Kong tour group. While treating the injured, Mr Ng was able to offer them a helping hand in a calm and reassuring manner to stabilize their conditions.
Meanwhile, back in Hong Kong, Ambulanceman Shen Chung-ming was driving his car along Route Twisk on his way to the Fire Services Training School at Pat Heung in late October when he came across a traffic accident. Two private cars were involved in a serious collision and one was on fire. Mr Shen saw that two men who arrived at the scene earlier had evacuated all six casualties from the wreckage to the roadside. Without hesitation he treated the injured and offered reassurances to them.
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However, the vehicle fire was growing bigger, billowing heavy smoke with sporadic explosions. Under the intense heat, Mr Shen and the two rescuers moved the casualties to a safer place away from the wreckage. When fire and ambulance personnel arrived, Mr Shen remained at the scene to assist until the completion of the rescue operation.
As Ambulancemen Ng Kei-long and Shen Chung-ming had shown their initiative, bravery and exemplary professionalism in the two incidents, they were praised by the Fire Services Department with the award of the Chief Ambulance Officer's Commendation and the Favourable Entry respectively. The wide media coverage of the two events had also brought credit to the whole Civil Service.
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Ambulanceman Ng Kei-long (right) receiving the Chief Ambulance Officer's Commendation.
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