Reminds me of a call gone wrong that we all heard about at the academy.
They got one of those "check patient" calls we used to get all the time. A lady was known to be despondent over this and that. Her family lived out of town and asked the telephone Operator to check the line. The line was ok, so they sent a crew to check on her.
They got the Super to let them in. They found the lady, apparently lifeless, in the bathtub with evidence of a barbituate O.D., and a suicide note.
Here's where it gets interesting. For whatever reason, the crew decides that rather than lift her out of the tub and take her to the hospital, to call the Coroner instead. We all had the number memorized, and used it a lot. Soon after, the police are notified and arrive to take custody of the body. The crew then departs the scene. Some time later, the coroner arrives. The coroner does his examination and calls for a body wagon to take her to the morgue. This is when the morgue was still on Lombard St., before they shut it down and re-located its long-term occupants to Grenville St.
Just as the removal guys from the funeral home are transferring her onto a drawer tray which slides into one of the stacked coolers, she suddenly shows signs of life. Maybe it was all the jostling, the sudden cold, or the O.D. was starting to wear off. The morgue attendants were understandably upset.
Another ambulance was called - a station was conveniently located over the morgue in those days - and they rushed her to St. Mike's emerg.
Departmental S.O.P's were immediately re-written to transport just about everybody.
