On Saturday night, in Kiryat Ata, volunteer EMT Mordechai Ben Ezra responded to an emergency call in which a woman claimed that her friend, who was intoxicated, was threatening to harm herself. Ben Ezra, who also works with the local police force, was in the middle of a shift when he received the alert.

As an EMT with United Hatzalah, Ben Ezra brings his medical kit with him on every shift. Together with his partner Shlomi Vanunu, Ben Ezra sped over to the house of the woman who called for help.

Mordechai Ben Ezra
Mordechai Ben Ezra

When the officers arrived at the address, they found the door locked.  The intoxicated woman threatening to harm herself if the door were to be opened and the officers allowed to come inside. After threatening to break down the door, Ben Ezra and Vanunu succeeded in talking the intoxicated woman out of harming herself through the closed door and were allowed inside the apartment.

Once inside, Ben Ezra began treating the woman for her high alcohol content and the injuries she had already sustained. The experienced EMT and his partner took the woman to the police station where she was picked up by the ambulance.

“This was a tough case as the woman was drunk and was creating havoc in the apartment. We had to calm her down and then take her to the police station before we could fully treat her and send her to the hospital.” Ben Ezra has been a volunteer EMT with United Hatzalah for more than five years. He said that the organization means a lot to him. “Being an EMT with this organization has allowed me to save lives, and I greatly appreciate that. It is the best thing to be a part of. What’s more, this organization is like a family. We know that wherever we go we help people and we help people together. Being a part of something like that is the greatest feeling there is.”