NYT: "The victims dropped where they stood, forming a row 20 or 30 feet long."

[somone]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/15/us/15medical.html

From Bloody Scene to E.R., Life-Saving Choices in Tucson
By DENISE GRADY and JENNIFER MEDINA

TUCSON — The moment Tony Compagno stepped off his fire engine, frantic people spattered with blood began running up to direct him to gunshot victims. Among the wounded was Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who had been shot in the head. Mr. Compagno was one of the first paramedics to reach the scene of the shooting rampage at a shopping center in Tucson last Saturday.

“Lots of people were laying on the ground,” said Mr. Compagno, from Fire Station 30 the in Northwest Fire/Rescue District of Tucson. “The congresswoman, I could tell that she was still alive. People were giving a little girl CPR. My mind went away. I started counting, and then I thought, ‘What am I counting, injured or dead?’ ”

There were 19 victims. Mr. Compagno’s job was triage: to assess the severity of injuries and label victims so that ambulance crews would know whom to tend to first. He realized instantly that there was no time to write labels. Ambulances and fire engines were roaring up. The victims dropped where they stood, forming a row 20 or 30 feet long. Mr. Compagno could see quickly that five were dead, seven were “immediates,” needing help right away, and the rest could wait.

The child receiving CPR was not responding, but Mr. Compagno was not about to write her off. “The little girl, I counted her as an immediate,” he said. Instead of using labels, he simply directed each rescue team to a victim. The goal was to stabilize them and get them to the hospital as quickly as possible, because people with severe gunshot wounds need trauma surgeons...

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

1. Very moving accounting of the first responders

and ER staff experiences that day and of the family members

eta: more reactions as I continue to read this excellent article

[niyad]

2. k and r--a truly amazing first-hand account of that terrible tragedy