Ambulance Drivers Battle Thanksgiving Storm to Save Lives - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

If you thought getting around the roads after Thanksgiving dinner in the Red River Valley was tough, just imagine how ambulance drivers were feeling.

Emergency services workers don't get the day off like most of us on big holidays.

The crews from F-M ambulance were hard at work, staking out the busy spots in town for emergency calls early in the day. Then the storm hit right around dinnertime, slowing everyone on the interstate, including rescue crews, to about thirty to forty miles per hour.

"You know, when it's life threatening, it's a delay, but we can't help what Mother Nature does to you," says Jason Eblen, a paramedic. "If we punch her down, then go in the ditch, we're not going to get there to help them...You deal with it, and you make it up where you can," he says.

Ambulance workers say that while Wednesday was a busy day for mental health calls, overall, they don't see that many more suicides or calls for service over the holiday than usual.

They say the perception may come from emergency calls being that much more traumatic for families when they happen on a holiday.

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