By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer
Ed Bayer didn’t think much about three particular 911 calls he responded to last year as a Philadelphia Fire Department paramedic.
But his colleagues thought a lot of them. And now Bayer’s 11-year-old son Eddie thinks even more of him.
The Philadelphia Fire Department Historical Corporation and the department itself honored Bayer as the Fire Service Paramedic of the Year during a recent ceremony at Fireman’s Hall Museum in Old City.
Bayer was nominated for his roles in three emergency calls that, if nothing else, he says, demonstrate the diverse demands required of all fire department paramedics each day.
"Things happen every day that go unrecognized," said Bayer, 30, a Northeast Catholic High School graduate and five-year fire department veteran. "It’s nice when they do recognize, but none of us come to work expecting accolades."
Under normal circumstances, Bayer explained, he’d shun the extra publicity of a newspaper interview too, but Eddie made him do it.
"He was beaming when I told him," Bayer said. "I was going to pass, but he said, ‘Do it! Do it!’ He’s very proud, and that’s what it’s about — making your family proud. That’s my most important job — being a dad and setting a good example."
The civilians impacted by his actions on three occasions in 2006 probably think he’s pretty important too.
In one instance, Bayer and a fellow firefighter ran down a purse-snatcher. Another time, he rushed into a burning house to rescue the people inside. Also, he wrested a knife from a woman who had swallowed poison in a suicide attempt.
All three calls occurred near the Engine 36, Ladder 20 and Medic 17 firehouse at Frankford and Hartel avenues, where Bayer has been assigned since May 2006. Bayer doesn’t recall precise dates for the incidents, but the rest of the details remain fresh in his memory.
The mugging occurred just off of Pennypack Circle along a seldom-used city street named Poquessing Avenue.
It was on the day shift, and Bayer and a partner had just filled their ambulance with fuel at a nearby city facility. As they pulled away from the pump, they watched a young male follow an elderly woman onto the side street, which serves more as a driveway between Nazareth Hospital and an apartment complex.
The male knocked the woman to the ground, snatched her purse and ran.
"I threw (the ambulance) into park and took off running," Bayer said. "As we were pursuing him, he actually threw away the purse, turned around and gave up."
Bayer and his partner held the suspect until police arrived. Fortunately, the victim had no serious injuries.
"All she could say was, ‘Thank you.’ I think she was startled by the whole thing," Bayer said.
The second big job occurred in the middle of the night at Torresdale and Convent avenues. Bayer and a partner were returning from an earlier call when they were dispatched to an auto accident.
At the scene, they discovered that an SUV had rammed a house. The vehicle had plowed through exterior and interior walls and was completely inside the building. A fire had ignited around the vehicle, causing heavy smoke conditions. Gas lines were near the destruction.
And there was one other problem.
"When we arrived, there was a woman screaming, ‘There’s people in there. There’s people in there,’" Bayer said.
At least, he figured, the SUV driver was still inside somewhere and possibly unconscious.
"I put my gear on and went into the house," Bayer said.
He searched all over but found nobody. Then he got out. Soon, engine and ladder companies arrived to put out the flames. A second search confirmed that nobody was in harm’s way.
The driver, Bayer later learned, had walked away from the crash and was nearby.
The third incident involved a short standoff with a suicidal young woman inside a local residence. The woman had ingested a potent insecticide and was holding a knife to her own throat.
"It was actually very short — only about thirty seconds," Bayer said. "She said she meant no harm to us, only to herself. She made a sudden jerk, and it looked like she was harming herself. At that point, I wrested the knife away from her."
They took the woman to a local hospital, which treated her for the poisoning.
All three may seem high-stress situations in layman’s terms, but they were pretty run-of-the-mill to Bayer.
"There are plenty of things I’ve seen myself or heard about from others that I went home (afterward) and thought more of than these events," he said.
For medics, the unusual and dramatic is routine. "You could be confronted with chest-pains runs all day and each one is different," Bayer said.
The variables are always changing. Challenges include getting to the scene in city traffic, working in different weather conditions, dealing with bystanders and coping with the demeanor of patients.
"People may be the nicest people in the world, but when you meet them, they’re not at their best," he said. "We have to walk into people’s homes and have to be in control. You definitely acquire a feel for when you have to be aggressive and when that’s not the best choice."
Bayer, whose mother once worked as an EMT, followed in her footsteps at age 15 with a volunteer company. Later, he worked full time at Rhawnhurst-Bustleton Ambulance. Now, besides driving an ambulance for the fire department, he instructs Fire Academy cadets in CPR and other EMT techniques.
"You definitely have to look at it as a career, not just a paycheck," Bayer said, "or you’re not going to last long." ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com