An ambulance was called to assist a 65-year-old man who was found unconscious and not breathing on his farm in Rochester. While the daughter of the deceased man acknowledged the ambulance had difficulty locating the farm due to its remote location on an easement through another property, she defended Ambulance Victoria and said the paramedics did everything they could as her father was already dead by the time he was discovered. The general manager of Ambulance Victoria confirmed the first ambulance reached the area within 12 minutes but had trouble finding the exact location, and that paramedics arrived at the scene at 4:29pm. The daughter believed the six minute response time but understood how the farm could be difficult to find.

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Ambos not at
fault: daughterBy ELAINE COONEY
The daughter of a Roches-
ter man who died on Octo-
ber 26 when an ambulance
lost its way has defended
Ambulance Victoria.
Belinda Pownall, whose
father Kevin John Pownall, 65,
died at his farm on Siphon Rd,
said the paramedics did every-
thing they could.
She said when her brother
Andrew Pownall found her
father in the paddock, he was
already dead, so a delay in
ambulance assistance did not
contribute to his death.
‘‘If he was gasping for air
and showing signs of life it may
be a very different story,’’ she
said.
Ambulance Victoria general
manager regional services
Tony Walker said the ambu-
lance was called to treat a man
(Mr Pownall) who was uncon-
scious and not breathing at
4.07pm.
‘‘We immediately dis-
patched an ambulance from
about 3km away and two other
ambulances soon after,’’ he
said.
He said the first ambulance
reached the area within 12
minutes but had difficulty lo-
cating Mr Pownall.
He said paramedics reached
him at 4.29pm.
Ms Pownall believed the
ambulance arrived in six
minutes but was not surprised it
got lost.
‘‘We’re on an easement
through another property so it
would be very hard not to get
lost,’’ she said.
She said her father moved to
Rochester 10 years ago and
enjoyed his family and farm.
He was an automotive engi-
neer for Murray Goulburn and
in his spare time enjoyed mak-
ing electrical gadgets.
■ Rochester Fire Brigade member Jarrod Kelly watches on as a grassfire burns near Hart St, Rochester, on Thursday. Hot and windy conditions in the past week have kept
firefighters on their toes. Story page 3. Photo: ELAINE COONEY
Fires keep brigades busy