Firefighters say a state policy concerning a life-saving device for allergic reactions, EpiPens, put lives at risk.
The WZZM 13 Watchdog team is looking into why some firefighters are not allowed to carry EpiPens, while some non-emergency workers can. EpiPens are available in schools, but not some fire departments.
Teachers can use them, but some firefighters, who are often on the front lines of a medical emergency, cannot.
"The worst thing I've ever experienced," recalled Chuck Weaver, who said he nearly died waiting for an EpiPen. Weaver says he suffered eight bee stings and went into shock.
"There's no way to describe the pain," Weaver said.
Weaver and the firefighters who responded to help him see eye-to-eye about the policy for the life-saving EpiPens.
"It's tough for him, and it's tough for the responders," says Kurt Gernaat, the Blendon Township fire chief. "We needed to administer epinephrine, and we didn't have any."
That's because state law does not authorize Blendon Township firefighters and many other Michigan fire departments to carry EpiPens.