Hobart firefighter/paramedic Dave Hansen was on the department for less than a year when he responded to a call of a 4-month-old baby in full arrest.
He said he has responded to five full arrests of a child under a year old in the four years he’s been on the department, two of which occurred within three shifts.
Some were saved; others could not be.
“It affects everybody on the department, these types of calls,” Hansen said. “You never forget them.”
For these reasons, Hansen was instrumental in bringing the DOSE — Direct on Scene Education — program to Hobart. It is one of several departments in Lake and Porter counties to provide the educational program to families in their communities.
Under the program, firefighters are trained to notice any unsafe practices in a household with a baby under a year old while responding to a call and inform the parents or caretakers of the potential danger and what they should do to resolve it.
In addition to handing out pamphlets with educational information and phone numbers for various resources, the firefighters can also provide families with Sleep Sacs, which swaddle the baby and keep him or her warm in lieu of blankets, which could cause an infant to suffocate.
The Sleep Sacs are provided free of charge through the Indiana Department of Health.
“This program is a strong push for babies to sleep safely. This is to get them to where they can support their own head, at about a year old,” Hansen said.
He said in some of the full arrest incidents, the parents didn’t know their actions could harm their child. In other cases, there was no known cause of death and the baby’s death was listed as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS.
Mike Sharp, a St. John firefighter who was instrumental in getting both his department and the Griffith Fire Department on board with the program, said St. John serves as a pack and play crib distribution center for those families who have no safe place for baby to sleep.
He said two have been given away so far this year.
“In one case the baby had nothing to sleep in. In the other case the baby was 7 months old and sleeping on an air mattress with a pillow,” Sharp said.
An educational tool
Robb Quinn, the EMS coordinator with St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, received training in the DOSE program in Indianapolis and has trained almost every Hobart firefighter.
He said while the program in Hobart is still in its infancy, firefighters will soon have Sleep Sacs on every one of the department’s vehicles.
He said the course not only teaches the firefighters what possible dangers to look for in a house with infants when responding to a call, but how to tactfully bring the subject up to the parents and others watching the children.
“The biggest thing is to come off not judgmental, but to be helpful,” Quinn said.
“They can say, ‘I see you have children. I have incredible resources for you” and give them one of the educational pamphlets that lists resources and tells how to have a proper environment,” said St. Mary’s EMS director, Michelle Siegel.
“Sometimes that extra set of eyes offered by firefighter/paramedics helps keep babies safe,” Siegel said.
She said in 2015, Indiana had the eighth-highest infant mortality rate in the country, with 7.2 percent of the children born that year dying of SIDS.
The educators and firefighters agree that much of the problem is a lack of education. The parents just didn’t know that they were placing their child in danger.
“There is no real education anymore,” Hansen said.
He said in one incident, the baby was asphyxiated because the parents kept feeding the baby without burping him.
“You could tell they were good, caring parents. They didn’t know that could happen,” Hansen said.
The baby survived and is doing fine, he said.
Sharp said in one incident, two brothers were sharing a crib and the infant’s head got stuck against his brother’s head.
This also had a good outcome.
“In that case, the indentation from the baby’s pacifier kept the baby alive,” Sharp said.
“I learned there are two types of parents: smart and lucky ones. I put my one baby to bed with stuffed animals in the crib. I was lucky. Now my new baby has a boring empty crib,” Sharp said.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
How to learn more
Mike Sharp, a St. John firefighter, said new parents or caretakers wanting to receive education on infant safety practices in the house can call the St. John Fire Department at 219-365-6034.
