As the investigation into the fiery New Year's Day crash outside Rochester’s Kodak Center continues, there is new information about the first ambulance crew that arrived on the scene.

“Trauma and loss isn’t something that first responders in the city are foreign to," said emergency medical technician and ROC City EMS union spokesperson Collin Van Laeken. 

What You Need To Know

  • A first responder that was injured during fiery crash rescue attempt in Rochester remains hospitalized

  • Critical care paramedic Julie Purick and her partner, EMT Davin Eshelman, tried to rescue a victim from a burning vehicle

  • In the process, Purick was seriously injured and is now hospitalized, while Eshelman is also recovering from smoke inhalation

  • The union and AMR work to provide mental health support for its employees to help them heal from more than just physical trauma

He and his colleagues never know what they are going to roll up on when they are called to a scene, sometimes facing horrific scenarios like the fiery crash outside the Kodak Center shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day.

“Hot gas and smoke is incredibly dangerous," said Van Laeken. 

He says critical care paramedic Julie Purick and her partner, EMT Davin Eshelman, tried to rescue a victim from a burning vehicle. In the process, Purick was seriously injured and is now hospitalized.

Eshelman is also recovering from smoke inhalation.

“Julie is conscious and mildly sedated, she’s still intubated," Van Laeken said. "She’s able to converse by writing and texting."

“She is well loved by everybody that meets her," said paramedic and ROC City EMS union vice chair Brittany Bland said of her co-worker and friend. “She has a little bit more training than the average paramedic would. She’s very smart [and] very knowledgeable. She’s a very selfless person. She is always worried about others and always looking for ways to help other people.”

AMR Rochester says it responded to the incident with 17 team members and wants to acknowledge the effort of all EMS and law enforcement agencies who worked together in caring for those who were injured.

The union and AMR work to provide mental health support for its employees to help them heal from more than just physical trauma.

“We have our peer support group that a bunch of us that are trained in this sort of thing to reach out to employees when this kind of thing happens, we call them critical incidents," said Bland.

“The effects on a case-by-case basis and a cumulative basis are horrific for the people involved, for the victims for the responders that have to endure what happens on the scene and cope with it after the fact so it’s tragic," said Van Laeken.

It’s expected to take time for Purick to heal from the injuries she received during her heroic efforts at the start of the New Year.