Portapique: paramedics describe long -term trauma

Two of the boys witnessed the death of their parents, then they realized the shooter was trying to burn down their house and they fled to a neighbor’s house.

Here they hid with two of their friends who killed the mother on the lawn near their house.

The children did not hold back, all saw, heard, they said, the voice calm. It’s surrealrecollection by Jeff Aucoin.

Her colleague Melanie Lowe said no nothing a child should see, hear or experience.

And I’m having a harder time now, I think, than before.

Four emergency health services (EHS) responders spoke candidly about what happened in the shooting that killed 22 people, including a pregnant woman.

They also criticized their boss, EHS, who they said did not support them during the tragedy and has not changed ways since then.

Jeff Aucoin recounts how he and others had no idea of ​​the dangers in Portapique until they got there and saw four fires on the horizon.

RCMP officers put the patients in the ambulance and knocked on the door telling them to leave.

” Obviously we were so close, we shouldn’t have been sent there, but we didn’t know that. “

They just want to get these people out and get them to safety as soon as possible.confession by Jeff Aucoin.

But at the same time, I think it puts us in a position of danger that we shouldn’t have been in. Because we don’t have, no bulletproof vests, no weapons.

When their shift was over they woke up and realized the magnitude of the situation.

I fell asleep thinking it was an isolated incident, and woke up with 19-20 deadlaunched Jeff Aucoin.

Maybe we are. We have no idea.

Bruce CoxA medical dispatcher working that morning recounted how even though they were answering calls, they didn’t know to warn people about an armed man dressed as a constable.

In the dark

He said the best they could do was warn people to get off the stage and go home.

We had no idea this was happening in our shifthe explains.

After a 911 dispatcher stopped a call to say that people should not leave their homes even in response to a police instruction, Bruce Cox he says he is starting to have an idea of ​​what is going on.

Back then, they didn’t know if they were real police RCMP Involved.

He later found out that someone from RCMP He explained the situation to his manager, but they insisted the information could not be shared.

Jesse Brine was part of the first team of paramedics to respond to Portapique.

He said how he only found out what happened by watching the news before his shift started the next day.

He was very nervous and he did not lose that feeling.

I was on my feet and really looked around. I watch more often than everhis confession.

He regrets the approach of his boss EHS who, according to him, should do more to support his employees psychologically.

Jeff Aucoin thinks so too. Eventually, I felt like we were alonehe said.

Need more support

The first responders to testify wanted to have more training and better equipment. They told the Mass Casualty Commission they hoped the speech would lead to change.

Emergency Health Services Agency EHS announced in an email based on in -depth analysis of its own internal processeshe brought Changes.

We recognize that there are many things we could have done to better support our employees since this unexpected event.

EHS said, among other things, to change certain policies to relieve employees of their duties in some cases.

With information from Elizabeth McMillan ng CBC