Here’s The Scoop…BSO Report…
May 1, 2009 by Barbara
FROM BSO NEWS ALERT….
BC-BSO sent in their helicopter…with a Volunteer Fire Dept. in place…showing we in LBTS are always covered when the need is there for it….rest assured….
GRANDMOTHER, GRANDSON CRITICALLY BURNED IN BLAST
QUICK THINKING BSO DEPUTY RUSHES IN TO RESCUE BOY
BSO Case Number: LS09-05-00010
PIO Number: 09-5-4
Date: May 1, 2009
Time: 11:28 a.m. Jurisdiction: Lauderdale-By-The-Sea
Place of Occurrence: 4001 N. Ocean Dr., Lauderdale-By-The-Sea
Victim(s):
* Vincenza Pesce, 62, female, 03/30/47, Italy (HOSPITALIZED)
* Franchesco Martinizi, 4, male, 09/03/04, Italy (HOSPITALIZED)
Suspect(s):
* N/A
Description of Incident:
A grandmother and her grandson were critically injured when an explosion ignited a hyperbaric chamber they were in just before noon on Friday.
At 11:28 a.m., Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a reported explosion at the Ocean Hyperbaric Oxygen Neurologic Center at 4001 N. Ocean Dr. in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea. In less than two minutes after the call was received, BSO Deputy John Melbourne arrived at the scene. Without hesitation, he entered the building and fought his way through heavy smoke to rescue Franchesco Martinizi, 4, who was on fire, with his grandmother, Vincenza Pesce, 61, inside a hyperbaric chamber. Additional deputies responded and assisted with evacuations and traffic control in the area.
Pesce was holding her grandson inside the tube-like chamber while he was receiving treatment for a medical condition. Initial investigation by BSO homicide detectives and the State Fire Marshal’s Office indicate that there was a blast that dislodged a tube attached to the chamber, resulting in an explosion and flash fire. The medical facility staff was present at the time, as were other patients in the treatment area, which consisted of a room filled with approximately a dozen of the oxygen-enriched chambers just inside the first-floor entrance to the building. Nobody else was injured.
A BSO helicopter landed across the street, and a team of Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue flight medics treated the two victims. Both sustained serious burns over 90% of their bodies. Pesce was transported to Broward General Medical Center by ground ambulance, accompanied by one of the flight medics. Martinizi was flown to the same hospital by BSO Air Rescue. The two were stabilized at that facility and later flown by BSO Air Rescue to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Burn Unit in Miami.
Late Friday night, three of the hyperbaric chambers were taken as evidence and will be examined by experts to assist in determining the cause of the blast. Crews emptied a 1,500 lb. underground liquid oxygen tank that supplied the gas to the units inside the facility. The State Department of Health and Agency for Health Care Administration were also notified of the incident. The investigation is ongoing.
INVESTIGATORS: D-13, D-11, RID, Homicide, Crime Scene, OHS, Bomb Squad, Sgt. Bukata, State Fire Marshal, FLDOH, AHCA, Chief Gooding, Lt. Cedeno, LBTS Fire Inspector
THIS REPORT BY: Mike Jachles/PIO 05/01/09 2245
more to come….
