Need an ambulance? Don’t call if it’s snowing

A wave of bad weather swept over many parts of the country in February. Blizzards ripped through the Northeast, leaving residents without necessities such as electricity, in some cases for weeks on end.

One would logically assume that localities which normally receive snow in winter would be prepared for an enormous storm. After all, following the despicable government response to the Katrina tragedy of 2005, repeated assurances were made that the millions of dollars being pumped into Homeland Security would result in vastly improved emergency preparedness.

The reality, however, is that the U.S. government has lied yet again. In Pittsburgh, for instance, the government response to the recent blizzard has been horrendous.

As the snow continued falling, area residents found themselves unable to leave their homes to obtain food and medicine. Plows focused mainly on salting and plowing the main roads while most alleys and side streets were untouched as 20 inches of snow accumulated.

And as the days wore on with little headway, tragedy occurred. On Feb. 5, Curtis Mitchell, a 50-year-old African-American man residing in the mostly impoverished Hazelwood area, began experiencing severe abdominal pain.

Mitchell phoned 911, as he and his longtime partner Sharon Edge would do 10 more times over the next 30 hours. But the Emergency Medical Services never reached him.

The closest EMS would come was to the Elizabeth Street Bridge, four blocks from the Mitchell residence on Chaplain Way. EMS medics repeatedly told Mitchell that he would have to walk to the bridge to meet them, which he informed them he could not do as his pain was too great.

On Feb. 7, Mitchell died at his home.

Another shocking story has also emerg-ed. Denene Hefflin, the foster mother of 11-month-old twins who have heart problems, said her daughter Jade developed a high fever on Feb. 8 and started vomiting.

After phoning 911 and hours later being informed that she would have to walk up a hill to meet paramedics, the ambulance simply drove away when Hefflin said she could not carry two infants and a diaper bag uphill in 20 inches of snow. Fortunately, Jade is fine after her mother spent almost three hours digging her car out of the snow. Hefflin and her children reside in the largely people-of-color neighborhood known as the North Side.

EMS Chief Robert McCaughan has said an investigation has been launched. But the medics involved with both cases remain on the job receiving paychecks.

Many are claiming that city budget cuts are to blame for the outrageous lack of snow removal, but there were no such economic shortcomings in Pittsburgh last September when the richest and most powerful capitalist leaders met for the G-20. The city was placed in virtual lockdown and became a terrifying police state.

It seems emergency assistance is only available in Pittsburgh when the weather is good. If you’re Black, working class and poor, a death sentence may result.