On Friday, May 5, 2023, two paramedics from Clearwater Fire & Rescue were fired following an investigation into an incident that occurred shortly before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, in the Sunny Park Groves neighborhood in Unincorporated Clearwater.
Arriving paramedics located a male in his 60s at the home and quickly determined that the man was deceased. Once that determination was made, the responding ambulance and another fire engine en route were canceled.
As a routine practice following a death in a home, law enforcement was notified, and a deputy from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene. The crew from Clearwater Fire & Rescue’s Station 47 left the residence.
Approximately 28 minutes after the patient was determined to be deceased, the deputy in the home requested fire rescue crews to return to the house and indicated that the patient appeared to have a pulse and was breathing.
The original crews that arrived earlier were dispatched to another call. Therefore, crews from Largo Fire Rescue responded to the scene. Arriving units treated the patient and transported him to Morton Plant Hospital. The man was released from the hospital after receiving several days of care.
The office of the Pinellas County EMS medical director continues to investigate and is expected to forward a recommendation to the Florida Department of Health regarding their paramedic certification.