Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveAnthony Flematti — Direct
164 linesJUDGE CANNONE: All right, Mr. Nuttall. You are all set, sir.
MR. NUTTALL: Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: Do you have another witness, Mr. Lally, to start?
MR. LALLY: Yes, Your Honor. Your Honor, the Commonwealth would call Mr. Anthony Flematti to the stand.
Whereupon, ANTHONY FLEMATTI having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified under oath as follows:
JUDGE CANNONE: Whenever you're ready, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: Thank you, Your Honor.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. LALLY:
MR. LALLY: Good afternoon, sir.
MR. FLEMATTI: How are you?
MR. LALLY: Could you please state your name and spell your last name for the jury?
MR. FLEMATTI: My name is Anthony Flematti. My last name is spelled F-L-E-M-A-T-T-I.
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 of 2015. So coming up on 10 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 Athol Fire Department for a few years, hired in 2012, March of 2012, until July of 2015. So I just transferred.
MR. LALLY: And, even prior to working with the Athol Fire Department, did you work as an EMT anywhere?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes. So I worked as an EMT for American Medical Response out of Springfield/Holyoke. I worked for Fallon Ambulance. I started basic level of EMT around 2008 and then just different private ambulance companies around the state.
MR. LALLY: And starting with the EMT side of it first, what, if any, training did you receive or education did you receive prior to getting your certification as an EMT?
MR. FLEMATTI: So there's different levels of certifications for EMTs. The EMT basic starts out at about six months, a couple nights a week, for, like I said, for about six months to get your 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: And could you describe for the jury a little bit about sort of what that paramedic level of schooling is?
MR. FLEMATTI: So the paramedic schooling starts -- it's about 12 to 14 months. It depends on the program what school you go to, night school, two to four times a week for about 14 months. And then you start going into a clinical phase where you go into the different operating rooms, operating rooms, emergency rooms, OB/GYN, cardiac CCU, ICU. You do about 300 hours of education in that. Once you've completed a bunch of skill checkoffs under the supervision of an R.N. or doctor, depending on the room, you would then clear that section of your schooling and then move on to a ride- time phase, which is about two to three hundred hours, depending on skills, what you need. That would be 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 two or three hundred hours. You write up different documentation, basically learning how to do it at a clinical and then more of an in-field set. 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. Then 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 to the physical location that you're working in.
MR. LALLY: So there is a written portion and a practical portion for both --
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: -- EMT as well as the paramedic training?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes. That's correct.
MR. LALLY: Okay. And you successfully completed that and received certifications in regard to both?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And those certifications, are they something that is just sort of a one-time blessing, or is that something that has a continuing educational component and recertification?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's correct. So every two years, we have to do a 48-hour refresher. So it's continuing education classes as far as national 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 certification is up-to-date at this point; is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes, sir.
MR. LALLY: You mentioned that you are 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 am a temporary acting lieutenant. So I've been that since I believe it was February up until this time.
MR. LALLY: And, within the town of Canton, how many fire stations or firehouses do you have within Canton?
MR. FLEMATTI: So we have two different stations, headquarters and Station 2 that we operate out of.
MR. LALLY: Okay. Do you work specifically in one or does it sort of rotate between the two?
MR. FLEMATTI: It depends on the rank. So as a firefighter, we would rotate through the different positions. Our different stations has the lieutenant and the lieutenant right now at Station 1. So headquarters.
MR. LALLY: And where is Station 1 located?
MR. FLEMATTI: 99 Revere Street.
MR. LALLY: And, with respect to each of the two station houses, how many sort of different vehicles and apparatus are located in each?
MR. FLEMATTI: So we have -- it depends on what's obviously in service for mechanical issues and stuff. But we have a primary engine, a backup engine that 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 have the backup pieces for that. And I believe our tanker truck right now or our water truck is out of Station 2.
MR. LALLY: And, Station 2, where is that located?
MR. FLEMATTI: 7 Sassamon Street.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as the sort of shift, how many people are assigned to -- when you're assigned to -- let me ask you this first: When you have a shift, what hours does that shift sort of concern?
MR. FLEMATTI: So for shifting or shift work, it's 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. the next day. It's a 24-hour shift. We have a 24 period off from work, another 24 and then we are off for five 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 truck or how does that work?
MR. FLEMATTI: We are usually assigned to a specific position for either the 10 hour or the 14, depending on rotations, overtime, that kind of stuff. But we are usually assigned to an individual piece or individual position for that shift, at least whether it's a day shift or a day shift or the whole 24.
MR. LALLY: And so starting with just 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, we would have two people assigned to the ambulance. We rotate either through seniority or through care level, whether you're a paramedic, EMT. If you're both paramedics, then it would go by seniority and swap back and forth for call volume and -- who is in charge of the call. And then we would also cross-man with ladder, as well. So depending on the call that comes in for service, on a fire call, we can take a ladder. On a medical call, we take the ambulance.
MR. LALLY: And, with respect to the engine, how is that sort divvied up?
MR. FLEMATTI: So the engine, if we have a full staff of 13 members, we would have four people on the engine. If there's a couple of people on vacation, that type of thing, we could do -- it's the driver, step and then a lieutenant in charge of the engine.
MR. LALLY: Now, if I could turn your attention to January 28th into -- the evening of January 28th, into the morning of January 29th. Were you working on that occasion?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Okay. And you were working 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 on that occasion?
MR. FLEMATTI: I believe it was Station 1 at the time.
MR. LALLY: And what was your assignment in relation to that shift, whether it was ambulance, truck or engine, whatever?
MR. FLEMATTI: That would have been Ambulance 1.
MR. LALLY: Okay. And who, if anyone else, was assigned to Ambulance 1 along with you at the time?
MR. FLEMATTI: At that time, I was working with Matthew Lahey -- not Lahey. I'm sorry. Matthew Kelly. We have a lot of similar names.
MR. LALLY: And what, if any, disparity was there between sort of the experience that you had versus the experience that Mr. Kelly had at that time?
MR. FLEMATTI: Mr. Kelly had just started with the department at the BLS level, the EMT-B, probably two or three months prior, had just finished up his preceptorship, getting him on board as a new hired 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 what they call the lead paramedic; is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's correct.
MR. LALLY: Okay. Now, with reference to that particular time frame, the 28th-29th, what, if anything, were you aware of as far as sort of weather forecasts or that kind of thing?
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, I wanted to not have to drive into the weather. So I picked up 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. 6:00 p.m. is the start of the shift.
MR. LALLY: 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 you mentioned that there was a storm that was forecast. What, if anything else, do you recall about sort of what type of storm or what was predicted?
MR. FLEMATTI: Predicted, it was going to be a pretty significant storm, heavy winds, heavy snow, not something that I wanted to drive in in the morning. So if the opportunity arose, I took the overtime for that night.
MR. LALLY: And what did it turn out to be as far as --
MR. FLEMATTI: Exactly as predicted. We hadn't gotten much snow up until midnight or so. And then snow developed since pretty much then, on.
MR. LALLY: 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 you responded to, say, after midnight but prior to 6:00 a.m.?
MR. FLEMATTI: I don't believe so. 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 -- what, if any, memory do you have 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 a little bit after 6:00 a.m., you get a dispatch for a medical call, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And just prior to that, about what time did you sort of get up, rise and sort of, you know, start doing things around the station that day?
MR. FLEMATTI: So the shift change usually happens around 8:00 a.m. in the morning. 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 5:00 or 5:30, depending on the call volume throughout the night. Sometimes we are up throughout the whole night. But we got up that morning around 5:00 to shovel, snow blow and salt the public walkways, that type of thing.
MR. LALLY: And specifically when it comes to the apron, that is sort of the area in front of the garage doors; is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's correct.
MR. LALLY: And so why is it so important to sort of clear off the apron as far as snow is concerned?
MR. FLEMATTI: So as far as in front of the apparatus doors, there's 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 clear to be able to pull the apparatus out without causing any damage.
MR. LALLY: And about what time was it that you and the other 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 was concerned?
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., about how much snow was on the ground at that point, if you know?
MR. FLEMATTI: I'd say 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 and, due to the weather, it could be a significant call.
MR. LALLY: Before I leave and depart on that for just one second, when it comes to when you're outside, sort of shoveling off the apron and clearing some of the parking lot, in addition to the snow, what, if anything else, did you note as far as sort of the weather conditions, visibility, things like that?
MR. FLEMATTI: Visibility was extremely poor, high winds. Probably 20-30 mile an hour winds. The temperature was probably in the 20s. It was still actively snowing at the time.
MR. LALLY: And the winds, to the best of your recollection, was this something that was just sort of a gust or was it sort of persistent?
MR. FLEMATTI: Sustained winds and then probably gusts, as well.
MR. LALLY: And so you received this dispatch and you, I'm presuming, get in the ambulance and go, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And who, if anyone, is 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 to beat the storm and get in on time because he was scheduled to come in at 8:00 a.m. that morning, anyway. But, with the heavy snow, he 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 call?
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 Station 1 to the scene on Fairview Road, what, if anything, did you note as sort of the road conditions, visibility as you were driving?
MR. FLEMATTI: So that neighborhood is actually relatively close to the station. You'd 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, what was sort of the lighting like at that point? Had the sun come up or anything like that?
MR. FLEMATTI: The sun had not come up yet. It was still dark, heavy winds, heavy snow. The 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 call or the other vehicle would have been Engine 3. 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 the three apparatus.
MR. LALLY: Okay. And do 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 Robery. And the engine, it would have been Frank Walsh, Katie McLaughlin. And the lieutenant for the engine was Greg Woodbury.
MR. LALLY: You mentioned it took a little bit longer with 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's five or six minutes.
MR. LALLY: And, to that point, with any call, there is an EMS report that's prepared by -- who is it prepared by?
MR. FLEMATTI: That's usually the person who texts the calls or is in charge of the call. This was an ALS-level call. So it would have been myself.
MR. LALLY: So you wrote as far as the report in relation to EMS arrival, and within that is contained sort of 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 are going through the call and the radio messages are sent, that's all documented on a third party that documents timestamps and 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 the witness, Your Honor?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
BY MR. LALLY:
MR. LALLY: Sir, I'm showing you what's been marked as Exhibit 160. I'm specifically turning to the seventh page and directing your attention to the far right column. Do you see that portion of the report, sir?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And, first and foremost, what I've placed 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 in, what, if anything, do you see with regard to 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 transported from the 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 sort of your dispatch from station house to Fairview Road, can you describe sort of the path as far as what direction, what route you took to get from one to the other?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes. So from Revere Street, we would have come out and taken a right onto Revere Street, gone to 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 Street and then taken 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 to the roadway as you're coming down?
MR. FLEMATTI: So as you're -- that is downhill towards -- about halfway down the road. So a pretty grade, and it's coming downwards.
MR. LALLY: And the address that you responded to at 34 Fairview Road, when you're coming from the direction that you were coming off of Chapman, is that a residence that's on your left, your 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 sort of what you've already described?
MR. FLEMATTI: We had the fire apparatus. There was another vehicle, bystander vehicle that was on scene, as well. I don't recall if the police were on scene at that time.
MR. LALLY: And, when you first sort of pull up to the scene, what, if anything, is it that you observe, even prior to getting out of the truck or the ambulance?
MR. FLEMATTI: So as we are pulling up to the scene, we see two female parties, non-uniform personnel. They were going back and forth between the body and the side of the street, back and forth. It 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: Again, so when you first sort of pull up, you're able to see the body on the ground; is that correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: It was -- yes. You could see a body, but it was very hard to see that distance away.
MR. LALLY: And do you recall any sort of like overhead or ambient lighting, street lighting or anything like that illuminating in 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. And who did you identify him to be?
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 and were able to do a more thorough search once interventions had started.
MR. LALLY: Okay. So when you first arrive on scene, fair to say you're primarily or only sort of concerned with patient care, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes. Correct.
MR. LALLY: To the point you sort of have tunnel vision to the patient, correct?
MR. FLEMATTI: Yes.
MR. LALLY: So you arrive on scene, and you, I'm assuming, get out of the ambulance. And where is it that you go?
MR. FLEMATTI: So we then go grab all the equipment that we are going to need to work on the patient. And then we bring that equipment over to the patient's side to be able to start treatment.
JUDGE CANNONE: Mr. Flematti, I am going to stop you there. I'm going to stop you, Mr. Lally. Jurors, that's it for today. We are not in session tomorrow. I 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 will see you on Thursday morning, and Thursday will be a half day, as well. Thank you very much.