B.C. Health Minister George Abbott has defended the BC Ambulance Service's handling of a 911 call in 108 Mile House last week following a house fire.

Malcolm Rae, 58, had escaped the flames with minor injuries, but then suffered what is believed to be a heart attack.

Cariboo North NDP MLA Bob Simpson said that's when the fire crew called for an ambulance, but there wasn't one available because of a shortage of paramedics.

"Three times they pleaded for an ambulance to be dispatched to the scene. To the minister of health, why was no ambulance dispatched?"

Abbott said the BC Ambulance Service was simply overloaded that day, and relied on the local fire department to take over.
 
He noted that 100 Mile House usually has two ambulances on call. At the time of the fire, both were dealing with other emergencies, he said.

"That's unusual for 100 Mile House. We see just over one call per day, so this was an unusual situation."

Abbott said the dispatchers knew it would take too long for an ambulance to arrive. So, they had the firefighters provide first aid and rush Rae to the hospital in a fire truck.

"Regrettably, the patient passed away, but it was not because anyone made a wrong decision," said Abbott.

Abbott also disputed a claim by Simpson that there is a shortage of ambulance crews in the region. He said the average response times have actually improved by 20 per cent over the past three years.