Bradley said at the Argo City Council meeting Monday that the Fire Department mishandled a situation with her grandson at the fire station about a month ago.
According to Bradley, her grandson, 10 months old, fell at home, and the mother of the child brought him to the Fire Department instead of dialing 911.
She said that the firefighters may have performed a visual check on the child, but they never touched the child afterward to check him.
Bradley said that a firefighter’s statement said they found no trauma to the baby’s face.
“There was a place on the baby’s head and the nose was already starting to swell blue; there is no way they saw no kind of trauma,” Bradley aid.
It was unclear Monday if the firefighters performed the Pediatric Assessment Triangle. The PAT consists of various procedures of checking a patient without touching him.
Bradley contended that the firefighters should have done a physical assessment.
“It’s OK to do a visual first, but then you have to go a step further,” Bradley said.
Bradley said the firefighters were asked to call an ambulance, but said it could take up to 30 minutes for one to arrive. She said they told the child’s mother it might be quicker to drive the child to the hospital herself.
“They should have called an ambulance when she first requested one,” Bradley said.
“I think y’all as council members and mayor should be concerned if we have more than one emergency in this town if they are both life threatening.”
Bradley said that she feels like the Fire Department mishandled the situation with her grandson.
“They are not bad firemen,” Bradley said. “I just feel like they did not do their job.”
Mayor Paul Jennings said both of the firefighters on the scene have received written reprimands from Fire Chief Mike Platts. The investigation is ongoing.
In other business the council:
• Discussed holding two meetings per month. Argo will officially be considered a city on June 29, and Jennings said that the first meeting would most likely still be held at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of the month. The second meeting could possibly be a morning meeting.
• Voted to pay 20 percent of the AFG Communications grant that will allow the Fire Department to convert to digital radios. The department will receive about $30,000 in equipment from the grant. The $7,300 that the department will have to pay will come out of the ambulance fund.
• Voted to reappoint Jim Link to another term on the zoning board.
• Approved a $150 fee per zoning variance request and each registered letter required to be mailed will be billed at $7.50 per letter that would have to be paid in advance of reaching the zoning board.
• Discussed an update on the “Welcome to Argo” sign. Jennings said he would soon ask the council to use some of the capital improvement money to help go toward the building of a nice sign that represents Argo.
• Discussed considering a four-day workweek. Jennings said that it could help cut back on some utilities and may save some money.
