Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveAnthony Flematti - Direct
159 linesJUDGE CANNONE: All right, Mr. Nuttall, you are all set, sir. Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: Do you have another witness, Mr. Lally, to start?
MR. LALLY: Yes, sir. For the Commonwealth, we'll call Mr. Anthony Flematti to the stand.
COURT CLERK: Raise your right hand. Do you swear that the evidence in the case now pending and in hearing shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
MR. FLEMATTI: I do.
JUDGE CANNONE: Thank you. Whenever you're ready, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: Good afternoon, sir. Could you please state your name and spell your last name for the record?
MR. FLEMATTI: My name is Anthony Flematti. Last name spelled F-L-A-T-L-E-Y.
MR. LALLY: And how are you employed, sir?
MR. FLEMATTI: I'm an acting lieutenant at this time for the Canton Fire Department.
MR. LALLY: And how long in total have you worked for the Canton Fire Department?
MR. FLEMATTI: I got hired in 2015, July 2015, so coming up on ten years.
MR. LALLY: And prior to working with the Canton Fire Department, what, if any, other work did you have within sort of the same field?
MR. FLEMATTI: So, in the same field, I worked for the [unintelligible] Fire Department for a few years — hired in 2012, March 2012, until July of 2015 — so just transferred departments.
MR. LALLY: And even prior to working with that fire department, did you work as an EMT anywhere?
MR. FLEMATTI: So I worked as an EMT for American Medical Response out of Springfield and Holyoke, worked for Fallon Ambulance — started at the basic level of EMT around 2008, and then just different private ambulance companies around the state.
MR. LALLY: And just starting with the EMT side of it — what, if any, training or education did you receive prior to getting your certification as an EMT?
MR. FLEMATTI: There are different levels of certifications for EMTs. The EMT basic starts out with about six months — couple nights a week, for about six months — take a certification practical and written examination for that to get your basic level, and then you move on to the paramedic level of schooling as well.
MR. LALLY: Can you describe for the jury a little bit about what that paramedic level of schooling is?
MR. FLEMATTI: So the paramedic schooling — it's about twelve to fourteen months, depends on the program, which school you go to — nights, two to four times a week for about fourteen months. And then you start going into a clinical phase where you go into the different — operating rooms, emergency rooms, OB-GYN, cardiac, CCU, ICU. You do about 300 hours of education.
MR. FLEMATTI: And once you've completed a bunch of skill check-offs under the supervision of an RN or a doctor, depending on the room, you would then clear that section of your schooling and then move on to a ride-time phase — about 200 to 300 hours, depending on skills, what you need — and that would be either in a fire department or a private EMS, under the preceptorship of a senior paramedic that would kind of walk you through how to do the job and shadow you and supervise that you're doing things appropriately. You do that for about 200 to 300 hours. You write up different documentation — basically learning how to do it out of the clinical setting and then more in the field setting.
MR. FLEMATTI: After that, whatever job you have at that point, you would do an additional practical assessment — again, about six or seven different stages of evaluation for physical skills — and you would do a written test again with the state. At that time it was the state of Massachusetts to certify you as a paramedic. Then after that they have another two-to-six-month preceptorship within the department to acclimate you to the physical location you're working at.
MR. LALLY: And so there's a written portion and a practical portion to both the EMT as well as the paramedic training?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes, that's correct.
MR. LALLY: And you successfully completed that and received certifications, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And those certifications — are they something that is just a one-time thing, or is that something that has a continuing educational component and a recertification?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's correct. So every two years we have to do a 48-hour refresher — continuing education classes, as far as core curriculum, classes that the national standard holds us to. So it covers different topics that they mandate that we cover every two years.
MR. LALLY: And your certifications are up to date at this point, is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes, sir.
MR. LALLY: You mentioned that you're currently a lieutenant within the Canton Fire Department, is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And how long have you had the rank of lieutenant?
MR. FLEMATTI: I'm a temporary acting lieutenant, so I've been that since — I believe it's February, up until this time.
MR. LALLY: And within the town of Canton, how many fire stations or firehouses do you have?
MR. FLEMATTI: So we have two different stations — headquarters and Station Two — that we operate out of. Do you work specifically in one, or does it sort of rotate between These, um, depends on the rank. So as a firefighter we rotate through the different positions, um, or different stations. As the lieutenant — and the lieutenant right now at Station One — so headquarters.
MR. LALLY: And where is Station One located?
MR. FLEMATTI: 99 Rivier Street.
MR. LALLY: And within — with respect to each of the two stationhouses, um, how many sort of different vehicles and apparatus are located?
MR. FLEMATTI: So we have — depends on what's obviously in service for mechanical issues and stuff, but um we have a primary engine, a backup engine, we try to have at each station. We have one tanker truck, two ladder trucks, we have two primary ambulances, and then a backup ambulance as well. So we try to have at least one engine, one ambulance, one ladder at each station, and then we'll have the backup pieces for that. And I believe our tanker truck right now, or our water truck, is out of Station Two.
MR. LALLY: And Station Two, where is that located?
MR. FLEMATTI: 7 Sassamon Street.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as um the sort of shift — how many people are assigned — when you're assigned, let me ask you this question: when you have a shift, what hours is that shift, sort of?
MR. FLEMATTI: I'm sorry. So for shift work it's 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. the next day, so we work 24-hour shifts. We have a 24-hour period off from work, another 24, and then we're off for 5 days.
MR. LALLY: And when you're assigned to a certain shift for that 24-hour period, are you assigned to sort of a specific duty, or a truck, or how does that work?
MR. FLEMATTI: We're usually assigned to a specific position for either the 10-hour or the 14, depending on um rotations, overtime, that kind of stuff. But we're usually assigned to an individual piece or individual position for that shift at least, whether it's a day shift or the whole 24.
MR. LALLY: And so starting with just uh the ambulance — if you're assigned to the ambulance, how many people and what are the different roles in the ambulance?
MR. FLEMATTI: So the ambulance, um, we'd have two people assigned to the ambulance. We rotate either through seniority or through care level, um, whether paramedic or EMT. If you're both paramedics then it would go by seniority, and swap back and forth for call volume and teching, um, who's in charge of the call. And then we would also cross-man with the ladder as well. So depending on the call that comes in for service, we would either — on a fire call we could take the ladder, medical call we could take the ambulance.
MR. LALLY: And with respect to the engine, how is that sort of divvied up, or what are the different roles on an engine?
MR. FLEMATTI: So with the engine, um, if we have a full staff of 13 members we would have four people on the engine. If there's a couple people off, vacation, that type of thing, we could — it's uh the driver, the step, and then the lieutenant in charge of the engine.
MR. LALLY: Now if I could turn your attention to uh January 28th, uh, into the evening of January 28th into the morning of January 29th — were you working on that occasion?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: You working uh 8:00 a.m. on the 28th until 8:00 a.m. on the 29th, is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's correct.
MR. LALLY: And which firehouse were you working out of?
MR. FLEMATTI: I believe it was Station One at the time.
MR. LALLY: And what was your assignment in relation to that shift — uh, whether it was ambulance, truck, or engine, whatever that would have been?
MR. FLEMATTI: Ambulance One.
MR. LALLY: And who if anyone else was assigned to Ambulance One along with you?
MR. FLEMATTI: At the time I was working with Matthew Kelly.
MR. LALLY: And what if any disparity was there between sort of the experience that you had versus the experience Mr. Kelly had at that time?
MR. FLEMATTI: So Mr. Kelly had just started um with the department at the BLS level, at the EMT level — probably two or three months prior. I just finished up his preceptorship, getting him onboarded um as a new hire, as an EMT. So very minimal experience at that time.
MR. LALLY: So fair to say any sort of medical calls you would have been sort of the — what they call the lead paramedic, is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's correct.
MR. LALLY: Um, now with reference to um that particular time frame, the 28th to 29th — what if anything were you aware of as far as sort of weather forecast?
MR. FLEMATTI: So leading into that shift I knew there was a storm coming, and I had always lived a good distance away from work, so I would try and tie overtime shifts in so I wouldn't have to commute more than once back and forth. But with the storm coming, wanted to not have to drive into the weather, so I picked up overnight overtime the night before my shift.
MR. LALLY: And about what time did you arrive the night before?
MR. FLEMATTI: The night before I arrived at 6:00 p.m.
MR. LALLY: 6:00 p.m. is the start of the shift, and so you were essentially on shift for a relatively significant period of time leading into the morning of the 29th, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's correct.
MR. LALLY: And um you mentioned that there was a storm forecasted — what if anything else do you recall about sort of what type of storm or what was predicted?
MR. FLEMATTI: Uh, predicted it was going to be a pretty significant storm, heavy winds, heavy snow, um, not something I wanted to drive in in the morning. So if the opportunity arose I took the overtime for that night.
MR. LALLY: What did it turn out to be, as far as exactly as predicted?
MR. FLEMATTI: Um, we hadn't gotten much snow up until about midnight or so, and then snow developed since pretty much then on.
MR. LALLY: And in a moment I'm going to ask you about a call around 6:00 a.m., but just if I could take you back a little bit before that — over sort of the overnight shift, did you have any dispatches or calls that uh that you responded to, um, say after midnight but prior to 6:00 a.m.?
MR. FLEMATTI: I don't believe so. Um, I don't recall how many calls were prior to that — that one was kind of the key of the night.
MR. LALLY: So you mentioned sort of, um — what is your recollection as far as like sort of when it started to snow?
MR. FLEMATTI: It would have been after 10:00 p.m. for sure, but I'm not sure exactly.
MR. LALLY: Now turning your attention to uh a little bit after um 6:00 a.m. — you get a dispatch um for a medical call, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And um just prior to that, about what time did you sort of uh get up, rise, and sort of, you know, start doing things around the station?
MR. FLEMATTI: So shift change usually happens around 8:00 a.m. in the morning. Um, it takes a while to get everything ready for normal business hours. We try and get the station prepped for public that come into the building, or just people passing, going around. We try to prepare the sidewalks, the apron. So we get up around 5, 5:30 — depending on call volume throughout the night, sometimes are up throughout the whole night — but we got up that morning around 5:00 to shovel snow, blow salt, the public walkways, that type of thing.
MR. LALLY: And specifically when it comes to the apron, um, that's sort of the area in front of the garage doors, is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's correct.
MR. LALLY: And so uh why is it so important to sort of clear off the apron as far as snow is concerned?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yeah, so as far as in front of the apparatus doors, um, there is a very limited height clearance between the top of the fire apparatus and the actual garage bay doors. So a few inches of snow would be enough to cause us to bump into the ceiling of the apparatus garage doors. So we have to keep that relatively almost bare to be able to pull the apparatus out without causing any damage.
MR. LALLY: And about what time was it that uh that you and the other uh firefighters at your station started to sort of clear off — whether it be the parking lot, the apron, or anything else as far as snow?
MR. FLEMATTI: I'd say about 5:15, 5:30.
MR. LALLY: And at the time that you get this call shortly after 6:00 a.m., um, about how much snow was on the ground at that point, if you know?
MR. FLEMATTI: It's probably four to six inches.
MR. LALLY: And this dispatch that comes in shortly after 6:00 a.m. — what was the dispatch in regard to, and where were you dispatched to?
MR. FLEMATTI: We didn't have much information going out the door, just that there was a man on the side of the road. Um, and due to the weather there could be a significant call.
MR. LALLY: So before I depart on that just for one second — when it comes to, uh, when you're outside sort of shoveling off the apron and clearing some of the parking lot, um, in addition to the snow, what if anything else did you note as far as sort of the weather conditions, uh, visibility, things like that?
MR. FLEMATTI: So visibility was extremely poor. Um, high winds, probably 20–30 mph winds, temperature probably in the 20s, with uh still actively snowing at that time.
MR. LALLY: In the winds, to the best of your recollection, was this something that was just sort of a gust, or was it sort of steady?
MR. FLEMATTI: Winds and then probably gusts as well.
MR. LALLY: And so you received this dispatch, um, and I'm presuming you get in the ambulance and go, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Who if anyone was in the ambulance with you when you respond?
MR. FLEMATTI: So responding, I had myself, Matthew Kelly, and firefighter Nuttall — had come in early as well to try and beat the storm and get in on time, 'cause he was scheduled to come in at 8:00 a.m. that morning anyways, but with the heavy snow wanted to make sure he could get in and be able to relieve the people coming off.
MR. LALLY: And within the ambulance, where was everybody sort of situated, on route to the scene?
MR. FLEMATTI: I believe Matthew Kelly was driving, I was in the passenger seat, and Nuttall was in the back of the truck.
MR. LALLY: And as far as during the course of your going from um Station One to the scene on Fairview Road, what if anything did you note as far as sort of the road conditions, visibility, as you were driving?
MR. FLEMATTI: So that neighborhood is actually relatively close to um the station, so you normally get there in a couple minutes, but it was slow driving over there. So I remember going pretty slow to get over to the scene.
MR. LALLY: And as far as this particular time of day, uh, had the — what — was sort of the lighting like at that point? Had the sun come up or anything like that?
MR. FLEMATTI: Sun had not come up yet. It was still dark, heavy winds, heavy snow, so visibility was almost zero.
MR. LALLY: And as far as what if any other sort of apparatuses from your station were dispatched to this call as well at the same time?
MR. FLEMATTI: So the other vehicle would have been Engine 3, and just Engine 3. Car 5 will sometimes go — that's the shift commander for the department, depending on the nature of the call, how it comes in — and the ambulance. So it would have been three apparatus.
MR. LALLY: You recall who if anyone was in either Car 5 or the engine?
MR. FLEMATTI: So Car 5 would have been, at the time, Captain Wendell Roby. In the engine it would have been Frank Walsh, Katie McLaughlin, and the lieutenant for the engine was Greg Woodbury.
MR. LALLY: And you mentioned it took a little bit longer than without the weather to get to Fairview Road — is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's correct.
MR. LALLY: If you have any idea approximately how much time elapsed between the time that you received the call and the time that you arrived on scene?
MR. FLEMATTI: I'd have to refer to the EMS report — that is going to be more accurate — but I believe it was five or six minutes.
MR. LALLY: And to that point, with any call there's an EMS report that's prepared — by who? Who is it prepared by?
MR. FLEMATTI: So it's usually the person who runs the call or is in charge of the call. This was an ALS level call, so it would have been myself.
MR. LALLY: So you wrote the report in relation to EMS arrival, and within that is contained sort of the different times that things happen along the way — correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And the times that are noted within that report — is that something that's noted as it's happening, or is that something that you go back and figure out at a later time?
MR. FLEMATTI: So as we're going through the call and radio messages are sent, that's all documented by a third party that documents timestamps — things like that — as far as on scene, transport, clear from the hospital, that type of thing. It's all third-party documented.
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: I'm showing you what's been marked as Exhibit 160, specifically turning to the seventh page, and ask — to the far right, you see that portion of the report, sir?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Okay. First and foremost, what is before you as Exhibit 160 — that's your report, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Okay. And on that right column of the seventh page — what if anything do you see with regard to the times?
MR. FLEMATTI: So we have our dispatch time 6:06, en route time 6:07, on scene 6:14, at patient 6:15, and we had transported from that scene at 6:27 and arrived at destination — at the hospital — 6:45.
MR. LALLY: And that destination hospital would have been Good Samaritan Medical Center — is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Now, if you could — going back to your dispatch from the station house to Fairview Road — can you describe the path, as far as what direction, what route you took to go from one to the other?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yep. So from Rivier Street we would have come out, taking a right onto Rivier Street, gone to the end of that road, taken a left on Sherman, driven all the way up to Chapman Street, taken a right on Chapman Street, gone up to Fairview Road, and then taking a left on that — that would have brought us down to the address.
MR. LALLY: And as you're coming down Fairview, are you familiar with that area?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Okay. And so as you're coming down Fairview, is there any kind of grade or elevation — the roadway as you're coming down?
MR. FLEMATTI: So that is a downhill towards about halfway down the road, so a pretty good grade that's coming downwards.
MR. LALLY: And the address that you responded to — 34 Fairview Road — when you're coming from the direction you were coming off of Chapman, is that a residence that's on your left or right, or something else?
MR. FLEMATTI: That would have been on the left.
MR. LALLY: And when you arrive on scene, what if any other sort of vehicles or apparatuses do you observe beyond what you've already described?
MR. FLEMATTI: So we had the fire apparatus. There's another vehicle — a bystander vehicle — that was on scene as well. I don't recall if police were on scene at that time.
MR. LALLY: And when you first pull up to the scene, what if anything is it that you observe, even prior to getting out of the truck?
MR. FLEMATTI: So as we're pulling up to the scene, we see two female parties — non-uniform personnel — that were going back and forth between the body and the side of the street, back and forth. Looked like — appeared to be a female party that was pushing on his chest and then going back and forth between the other female party and the patient.
MR. LALLY: So when you first pull up, you're able to see the body on the ground — is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: It was — yeah, you could see a body, but it was very hard to see at that distance away.
MR. LALLY: And do you recall any sort of overhead or ambient lighting, street lighting, or anything like that illuminating that area?
MR. FLEMATTI: I don't recall.
MR. LALLY: Now, this individual — as far as the person on the ground — at some point you were able to subsequently identify who that was, is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Okay. Who did you identify?
MR. FLEMATTI: So identification won't normally happen right at that bedside — that's not really relevant to initial treatment. We found out who it was when we got into the ambulance. We were able to do a more thorough search once interventions had started.
MR. LALLY: So when you first arrive on scene, fair to say you're primarily — or only — concerned with patient care, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Correct.
MR. LALLY: To the point you sort of tunnel vision to the patient — correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yeah.
MR. LALLY: So you arrive on scene, you get out of the ambulance, and where is it that you —
MR. FLEMATTI: So we then go grab all the equipment that we're going to need to work on the patient, and then we bring that equipment over to the patient in order to be able to start treatment.
MR. LALLY: And Mr. Flematti, I'm going to stop you there.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'm going to stop you. Members of the jury, that's it for today. We are not in session tomorrow. Remind you — please do not discuss this case with anyone, don't do any independent research or investigation into this case. If you happen to see, hear, or read anything about the case, please disregard it and let us know. We'll see you on Thursday morning, and Thursday will be a half day.
COURT OFFICER: All rise for the court. Please be seated.