"Glass," was all she said. With a nod of understanding they headed towards the ambulance.
As soon as the scent of gasoline hit his nose he shot a look towards Joe and mumbled a few curses that she thankfully missed over the sounds of sirens drawing near. He didn't want her anywhere near this accident, but he didn't have much of a choice. They had three patients inside the f**ked up ambulance and were going to need as many hands as they could get to get them all out of there before the damn thing caught fire.
It was probably selfish, but he was glad that Joe was moving on and finding other things that interested her. He wanted her safe and happy. He knew accidents could happen anywhere probably better than most people and that she could just as easily get hit by a bus than get hurt working on an ambulance, but it made him feel a hell of a lot better to know that she wouldn't be in a position to take risks soon.
Well, she wouldn't be taking risks fulltime anymore and when she did he would be there to keep her safe. He'd still worry, but for her he'd deal with it. As long as she was happy he would deal with anything even if that meant she stayed on the truck fulltime. He wouldn't like it, but he would accept it for her.
"Eric," Joe said, her voice breaking.
"What?" he asked, shaking his head clear and forcing himself to focus. It was only then that he realized that they'd stop pushing the stretcher and Joe was kneeling next to the mutilated driver's side door.
"He's dead," she said hollowly.
Praying that she was wrong, he moved to kneel next to her and tilted his head to look at the bloody mess. When his eyes landed on Greg's vacant expression and the severe damage to his head and neck he knew the man was gone.
Legally they weren't allowed to pronounce someone dead and were technically supposed to do whatever they could for Greg but there really was nothing they could for him. They also had multiple patients and as the first EMTs on the scene it was their job to access the damage. Without a word they stood up and hurried over to the passenger side to find Greg's partner in the same condition.
"The third rider," Joe said flatly as she got to her feet and moved to the side doors of the patient compartment.
When she couldn't get the doors to budge he helped, but it was more than obvious that the doors weren't going to open without the help of the Jaws of Life. They quickly moved to the back of the ambulance and he let out a sigh of relief when the doors opened and he heard the young woman sobbing.
"We need a neck collar and the long board," Eric said.
With a nod, Joe took off to grab the stretcher while he inspected the scene inside the ambulance. The stretcher had come out of its hold and was on the floor, or rather ceiling. He grabbed it and pulled it out, giving it a good shove away from the ambulance so they had room to get the woman and get the hell out.
He noted the broken glass and medical supplies scattered on the floor before moving his eyes to the woman hanging upside down in the tech seat. Blood dripped off her as she struggled to free herself.
"Hold still. We're going to get you out," he said, crouching low as he walked towards her.
"I-I c-can smell gas!" she cried.
"I know," he said soothingly. "We're going to get you out as fast we can and get the hell out of here, but I need you to do exactly what I tell you to do, okay?"
"O-okay," she agreed, forcing herself to remain still even as she trembled with fear.
He heard broken glass being crushed behind him and wasn't surprised when Joe and Justin, an EMT that worked for a large private ambulance company, moved in behind him. He damn near sighed with relief. Justin was a large guy, but most importantly he knew his shit and would help get the woman the hell out of here. More importantly he'd work fast so that he could get Joe the hell out of here.
"I'll secure her neck if you two gentlemen and I use that term loosely," Joe said, forcing herself to get into the rhythm of things and keep everyone calm as she moved towards the patient, "would be so kind as to get her down and out of here."
"Sounds good," Justin said, shifting to Eric's left.
They both donned gloves as Joe carefully worked the collar around the woman's neck. Eric reached over and held the woman's head still as Joe secured the neck collar. When she was done he removed his hands and Joe got into a position where she could hold the woman's head still and stay clear of the area while they worked.
He knew from experience that job was extremely uncomfortable and sometimes had to be held for a long time while crews worked around the patient, but that wouldn't be the case today. They needed to get the hell out of here. He hoped that Fire was on its way since they'd take care of the gas problem quickly.
"If I cut her down do you think you could grab her?" Eric asked Justin.
With a firm nod, the man got his hands into position, ready to hold the woman where she was until Eric could help move her. He'd love a few extra hands, but there wasn't enough room or time for that. Shooting a nervous glance at Joe he grabbed his trauma shears out of pants and cut the lap belt off the woman.
"I-it was a-a priority three call," the woman said softly as tears rolled down her cheeks, surprising the hell out of them.
Priority three calls were not allowed to use the emergency lights or sirens. Those were the calls for patients who were in absolutely no danger and therefore the State decided that that the crews operating the ambulances and people on the road would not be put in harm's way as a result. A priority three patient was supposed to get a nice, calm ride to the hospital.
"Mark told him to shut down the lights, b-but he wouldn't listen," the woman said, sobbing softly.
"Shhh, it's okay," Joe said, trying to give the woman what little comfort she could.
"I didn't want to ride with him," the woman admitted softly and Eric didn't blame her one bit. Not that he voiced that opinion, but he shared a look with Joe that communicated exactly how he felt.
"On my count," he said, drawing back their attention to getting the hell out of there as he prepared to cut her shoulder belt. "One, two......three."
When the belt gave way he dropped his shears and reached up to grab the woman and gently guided her down. Carefully, but quickly, the three of them managed to keep her neck stabilized and moved her to the long board. Justin moved to the doors and picked up the foot of the backboard while he picked up the head. Joe kept her hold on the woman's head as they moved out.
They didn't bother with straps at the moment since it was more important to get the hell out of there before it blew up. As Eric reached the backdoors he smelled the unmistakable scent of smoke.