Charlotte County Fire and EMS lieutenant demoted for waiting to help someone

A lieutenant has been demoted for waiting more than three minutes to answer a cry for help.

An internal investigation done by Charlotte County Fire and EMS revealed that the first responder waited at the scene for rescue to get there before assisting someone who was injured.

An injured employee at Cheney Brothers, a food distribution company just off Piper Road east of Punta Gorda, was forced to wait longer than usual for medical care. That wait resulted in Charlotte County Fire and EMS Lieutenant Thomas Macchia being demoted.

The former lieutenant is now a fire medic after his demotion. But aside from waiting, documents claim he didn’t wear proper PPE, lacked integrity, and failed to follow standards of care.

In January, a man working at Cheney Brothers was “laying on the floor in pain.” He had to wait three more minutes for help even though EMS was already on scene.

An email to the Cheney Brothers’ director of security details that there was a Cheney Brothers employee directing traffic to the area of the incident. But, he was told by Macchia, “No, I am waiting on an ambulance. We need to show them where to go.”

The employee told Macchia, “that’s why I am here.” to direct the ambulance, but Macchia said, “no, we will wait.”

According to documents, Macchia asked what happened to the “female,” and a manager from the company said, “it’s a male, and he is currently laying on the floor in pain.”

Then Macchia commented, “well, I was told, female.”

That same email said Macchia waited for the ambulance to arrive before heading inside to help the hurt worker.

Macchia signed an employee notice form demoting him from lieutenant to acknowledge his violations, stating he was wearing personal protective equipment, used unsafe apparatus practices, had poor customer service, a lack of integrity, and failed to follow standards of care.

The former lieutenant has been with Charlotte County EMS since 2000. He hadn’t received any prior disciplinary actions.