Friday, March 4, 2011  February 24th, 2011 at approximately 2000 hours my department was dispatched for a single vehicle accident w/ unknown injuries or entrapment. Our rescue and an engine went in route within 2 minutes us being dispatched. we arrived on scene at the same time as the ambulance. Once on scene we found a single vehicle had run off the road, went airborne, hit a guide wire from a telephone pole, and the vehicle was resting in between 2 trees. the first problem we encountered was the guide wire that was hit actually was thrown in the air and had wrapped itself in the high tension lines above. All crews were informed of the issue. Once the vehicle was reached by our personnel, it was confirmed that the driver was entrapped. Crews from our rescue and engine worked to stabilize the vehicle and remove the roof. Once the roof was removed the patient was further stabilized, she was removed from the vehicle. While on scene the road we were working on was shut down by the local pd on one end and our squad had taken position at the other end of the road to divert traffic. In the middle of the rescue a second ambulance came into our scene at a high rate of speed and almost clipped our squad. The ambulance even ran over one of our cones that were up to shut the road down. Luckily our personnel were not in the way. The ambulance came with a driver only and had not called to our command for instructions so it was a surprise to us that it was coming.

LESSONS LEARNED:
We had learned multiple lessons from this call. We were informed from the electrical company that since the guide wire was made of metal; it could have caused the ground around the pole to be charred with electricity. Second lesson was that even knowing a road way is shut down; it doesn’t make it a safe zone from vehicles. The odd part of the whole call was that our station was holding a highway safety class at the time of dispatch.
 

 

Sunday, February 13, 2011  While I was working in the City of Philadelphia with an EMS transport company and I was sitting on our front bumper. There was a triple shooting no more than 30 feet from where I was standing I took cover behind our truck till a member of the PD said the scene was secured. At which time myself and my partner went over to render aid as we were getting ready to lift one of the victims on to our stretcher a witness to the shooting came over and started to stomp on our pts face no more them a foot from us.
 
LESSONS LEARNED:
No matter what the PD is saying if there is multiple victims and a lack of PD the scene is never safe. You need to keep your head on a swivel and communications from PD to EMS needs to be worked on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q2xqtfEgdo&feature=player_embedded

 

Wednesday, February 9, 2011  Salina Kansas Fire Department crews where dispatched to a medical alarm for a report of a “male subject not breathing”. Upon their arrival crews were met by a female subject stating that she thought her boy friend was not breathing. The crew found a male subject seated in a recliner code blue. Crew members started patient care, and soon began feeling ill themselves. The crew exited the structure and collapsed outside. Additional units were dispatched to the scene, and Carbon Monoxide readings in excess of 800 ppm were detected inside the structure. In all 4 Fire Department personnel were treated and released for Carbon Monoxide exposure, 1 civilian died, and 1 civilian was admitted for further treatment.


Following post incident reviews the Department has place Carbon Monoxide detectors on the EMS initial response bags.


Fast forward 1 year.
Feb. 1st 2011 SFD crews were dispatched to a local vehicle dealership for a subject “Stumbling and sweating badly”. Upon their arrival crews entered the structure where they recognized the odor of vehicle exhaust, at basically the same time the Carbon Monoxide detector on their EMS response bag went into full alarm, the EMS crew quickly evacuated everyone from the structure and requested an Engine company for investigation. The engine company found Carbon Monoxide readings in excess of 500 ppm inside the structure. No Fire Department injuries occurred and all civilian patients recovered fully.

Lessons Learned
Take the proper protective equipment with you every time, even on the everyday medic run. You can not see deadly atmospheric conditions, a simple gas monitor can, and the cost vs. benefit is beyond comparison.
 

 

Wednesday, December 15, 2010  A midland Ontario firefighter is recovering in hospital after suffering a heart attack while on duty. He collapsed in front of his co workers during shift change. EMS was called and the firefighters at the hall tended to him. CPR was preformed and 2 shocks from the debifrilator were administered to the firefighter before he regained consciousness. The firefighter who suffered the heart attack had admitted to the captain that he was in pain prior to the event he had also been outside shovelling prior to his heart attack.

LESSONS LEARNED: Defibrilators are an invaluable piece of equipment and as stats show shoveling is a major cause of heart attacks and firefighters are clearly not immune to.

 

Tuesday, November 23, 2010  Earlier today around breakfast time we had an engine company dispatched to a cardiac arrest. On arrival the unit found a worker working on the roof in full cardiac arrest. In an attempt to bring the patient down off of the roof, one of the firefighters fell off of the ladder breaking his ankle.

 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010  Here is a routine call that should make you stop and think next time you respond to a medical alert call. Engine 18 responded to a Life Alert Alarm (button activated medical alarm). It was told to them by dispatch that an 82-year-old male lived at the residence. It also stated he had multiple medical problems and a neighbor had a door key. When they arrived at the house it was locked, they retrieved a door key from a neighbor and entered the house. When they entered the house they noticed a strange smell. They called for the homeowner but got no answer. When they searched the house they found the 82-year-old resident in the back bedroom lying motionless with a gun in his hand and another one by his side. He had a gunshot wound to the head. They then realized the strange smell was gunpowder and the homeowner was DOA. The engine company called for PD and relayed to dispatch that it appeared this was a self inflicted GSW, as there was what appeared to be a suicide note. They stated they were "code 4" (all OK) and backed away from the room and waited for PD. It turns out the homeowner conversed with his brother the day before and they talked of having a caregiver come to the home to help care for him. This must have not been how he wanted to live so he wrote the note, grabbed his guns, hit the Life Alert medical alarm and fired away, ending his life.

LESSONS LEARNED:
Everything turned out fine in this instance but how many times do we go to an unknown aid medical alert activation and how many times do we enter a residence and we don't know exactly what's going on. This is just a reminder to be heads up at all times, don't become complacent, trust your gut, let PD enter the unknown and be careful out there! Typically this department stages for PD when the scene is un-secure, but nothing triggered anyone to think that it wasn’t. Thanks for this website I read it all the time.
 

Monday, September 20, 2010  Sept 11th, around 03:30 my partner and I got a "diff breather" call out in the county. It was on a lake at a year round residence. We get on scene with the vollie rescue dept and go into the house and do our thing. The pt is packaged and loaded on the cot. My medic hopped into the truck to spike the bag as we loaded the pt into the rig. It was pretty cool that morning, about 40 degrees. We made sure the rig`s doors were closed when we went into the house. So, we get the cot into the rig and my partner starts yelling and waving his arms around...."get her out of here NOW!!!"....In the 15 or so seconds the back doors were open, about 60-80 bald faced hornets swarmed into the rig. We took the pt out of the rig and wheeled her down the street away from the ambulance. My medic went with her. He took a blanket and covered her. A rescue member and I got into the back of the truck, turned out the lights and tried to kill the hornets. Finally, SJ got a SCBA bottle off the rescue and we blew them out with the compressed air. We killed the remaining ones with a towel. Luckily nobody was stung. After the pt was loaded, we looked around and found the nest on a garage next to where we parked. The combination of air temp, lights and warm interior must have made the hornets swarm to the truck.

LESSONS LEARNED: Just be prepared for the unexpected. Adapt and react....

 

Thursday, September 9, 2010  The heroic confined-space rescue efforts of Liberty Township volunteer firefighters on May 26 has landed them in hot water.
State officials say the volunteers violated occupational safety and health regulations.
As a result, the township fire department is taking corrective action to avoid having to pay a $1,500 fine imposed by the Indiana Department of Labor.
An investigation by DOL found that a team of firefighters who were not trained in confined-space rescue entered a 5-foot-diameter by 12-foot-deep well pit to rescue four people -- including two firefighters -- who had been overcome by muriatic acid vapor and/or hydrogen sulfide.
Plumber Eric Dalton, 40, and his assistant, Justin Benson, 19, both of Anderson, died after the incident at 5009 E. Centennial Ave.
Volunteer firefighters Rick Compton Sr. and Brian Buck were overcome by fumes as they tried to rescue the two men, who had entered the pit to make repairs. It is not out of the ordinary to use muriatic acid to clean well pumps, pipes and other components with sulfur buildup and corrosion.
Both firefighters survived.
Compton and Buck had arrived on the scene in their personal vehicles and street clothes ahead of their fellow firefighters, who were traveling in fire trucks with rescue gear. Compton and Buck entered the well unaware of the dangerous fumes below.
All four men were unconscious when other firefighters arrived.
Assisted by Muncie firefighters trained in confined-space rescue, volunteer firefighter Miles Waters, wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus, harnessed the victims so they could be pulled out.
"What they're complaining about is we weren't trained to do what we were doing," said Brent Devine, chief of the Liberty volunteer fire department. "We are not trained in confined-space rescue."
As a result, the fire department is changing its rules "to make sure we are not doing anything we are not trained in," Devine said. "We also have stopped the use of all personal vehicles driving to the scene like Rick and Brian did."
Devine told DOL that it would take his department three years to train and equip firefighters for confined-space rescue.
"All we can do in the future is get there, recognize the confined space, and call for a confined-space rescue team," Devine said.
The Muncie Fire Department has such a team.
In the meantime, Liberty Township firefighters, based on the strong recommendation of DOL, are completing technical rescue awareness courses provided through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
The class provides basic background to help firefighters identify confined spaces, to be aware of the dangers involved, and to reinforce the message that confined space rescue is too dangerous to attempt without proper training and equipment.
Knowing what they know now, would the volunteer firefighters have sent the untrained Waters into the hole to rescue his fellow firefighters?
"The DOL asked us that, too," Devine said. "We would have done the same."
 

 

Monday, May 24, 2010  By Lyda Longa

A few minutes after he turned 44, Port Orange Fire Lt. Joe Carrasquillo thought he was going to die.

Carrasquillo and his crew of firefighter/paramedics responded to a two-car crash at Dunlawton and Ridgewood avenues early Saturday. The call turned out to be a most memorable one for Carrasquillo, an experience he's never had in more than two decades working at the Port Orange Fire Department.

An accident victim threatened him with a handgun, authorities said.

"After 23 years of doing the same thing, I never expected anything like this," the lieutenant said Sunday. "At that moment my kids went through my mind and my wife went through my mind."

Donald Brooks, 62, was slumped over the steering wheel of a Jeep involved in the crash. Carrasquillo went to help Brooks, but instead was met with an angry, armed man who swiftly raised a handgun and tried to point it at the veteran firefighter.

But before that could happen, Carrasquillo dove into the driver's side of Brooks' Jeep and grabbed the muzzle of the .40-caliber Glock.

"He looked at me -- he started to bring the gun up," Carrasquillo said. "I lunged forward. Everything happened so fast. I needed to keep a grip on the muzzle and keep it from being pointed at me.

"Next thing I knew, one of the (police) officers was climbing over me. He Tasered him (Brooks), but he kept fighting. I was finally able to wrestle the gun out of his hands while the officer kept Tasering him."

According to a police report, Brooks had crashed into the rear of a white sedan at the intersection. After Carrasquillo determined that the person in the first car was all right, he approached the driver's side of Brook's Jeep. A woman who had witnessed the crash was standing by Brooks.

Suddenly, the woman began yelling, "Gun! Gun! Gun!" Carrasquillo said.

"You're going to have to kill me ... I'm not going to jail," Brooks reportedly stated.

A policeman headed toward Brooks' car as Carrasquillo wrestled with Brooks over the gun, the report states.

"I observed the tense, rapidly changing situation and I utilized my M26 Taser to stop the threat," Police Officer Theodore Kurtz wrote in his report.

But Brooks wasn't surrendering, even after Kurtz blasted him twice with the Taser. The combative suspect continued struggling with Carrasquillo, saying he was not giving up his gun, the report shows. When Kurtz shot a Taser probe into Brook's' chest though, Carrasquillo was able to grab the gun.

Fire Chief Thomas Weber said Carrasquillo saved the lives of his fire crew -- and Brooks.

"His actions probably prevented the suspect from getting shot and killed by police," Weber said Sunday.

Weber said firefighters are trained to anticipate hostile situations, but are told to back out if police are not present.

Brooks was charged with aggravated assault on a firefighter, improper display of a firearm, using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol, and DUI. He was being held Sunday night at the Volusia County Branch Jail with bail set at $8,250.

As for Carrasquillo, he believes someone was watching out for him on this particular birthday.

"I came up with strength I never knew I had," he said. "It came out good for everyone -- nobody died."

Copyright © 2010 The Daytona Beach News-Journal
 

Friday, May 7, 2010  A 32-year-old city worker is dead after being overcome by fumes this morning while checking a sewer outside of a business on Yankee Road, according to police.

Meanwhile, two firefighters who attempted to rescue the public works employee were hospitalized after the accident about 8 a.m. today, May 7, in front of Air Products and Chemicals Inc., 2500 Yankee Road, according to police.

Jabin Lakes died after falling into a manhole during an inspection, according to Police Maj. Mark Hoffman.

Firefighters went into rescue Lakes and were overcome with something in the shaft, he said. It is not clear what the substance is, according to Hoffman.

Fire Marshal Bob Hess was taken to Atrium Medical Center in Middletown and Capt. Todd Wissemier was taken to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, according to Hoffman.

The manhole is estimated to be about 20 to 30 feet deep and 20 to 22 inches wide, Hoffman said.

Mayor Larry Mulligan could not discuss details of the incident but said the city will hold a press conference today at 2 p.m. in council chambers, One Donham Plaza.

A coroner’s investigator is at the scene as well as fire rescue units from West Chester Twp., Fairfield and Franklin. The deceased man is still in the hole at 9:55 a.m.

Shortly before 10 a.m., crews were performing air quality tests on the manhole, Hoffman said. He said there does not appear to be any hazard to the general public in the area. At 10:12 a.m., crews on scene were requesting a chemist from AK Steel be sent to the manhole.

Air Products officials were in a meeting regarding the incident and couldn’t be reached for comment. The Allentown, Pa.-based company provides oxygen to AK Steel’s Middletown Works.

Hoffman said Lakes and two other city workers were inspecting the sewer about 8 a.m. because Air Products was interested in tapping into a main line. When the manhole cover was opened, Lakes was overcome by fumes and fell into the hole, he said.

The workers called 911 and fire crews arrived shortly thereafter, Hoffman said.
 

 

Friday, January 29, 2010  While performing routine maintenance on one of our hydraulic extrication rams, once the ram hit full extension, a seal blew and shot hydraulic fluid out of a gap between the valve and the ram body into my eyes. This resulted in me having to go to the ER and get my eyes flushed for about 1 hour.

LESSONS LEARNED:

Wear safety glasses anytime you are operating or are around someone operating hydraulic tools. This activity is something that I have done numerous times without incident, but this time it could have been catastrophic

 

Monday, December 14, 2009  I wanted to share some pictures of the anatomy of the vehicle we cut on this past Saturday morning on I-66 that will hopefully serve as a quick reminder of why we have to do our job right every time we go out the bay doors.  Here are two pictures of the side-curtain air-bag system and one picture of where we cut the roof of this particular vehicle to gain access to the trapped patient.  I hope this will drive home why we must expose and remove all plastic prior to making any cuts.  Please notice how close our crew came to the canister with our cut with the Hilti recip saw as well as the Hurst MOC Cutters.  Obviously, the exact location of these canisters is different on every make and model vehicle on the road as you will notice just how far back from the edge of the roof line this particular canister sits.  Unit officers please ensure this "Rip then Strip" technique happens every time to prevent our personnel from making a Close Calls report or even worse.  This task can be time consuming so, an excellent time management technique is to have the unit officer remove the plastic and glass while the crew stabilizes the vehicle.  This is merely a suggestion and a quick reminder to everyone as to just how dangerous our job can be and how the citizens we serve expect the best from us at all times.  I thank you all for your attention to this matter.  Stay safe and stay low.

 
 

Saturday, December 12, 2009  On November 8, 2009 at about 0200 hrs we got a call to set up a LZ for a helicopter who was carrying a man who had been lost on a near by mountain. As we were setting up the LZ we heard the helo circle and then start to land before we were set up. The Chief and Assistant Chief were in the field setting out the lights for the LZ when the helo attempted to land and had to pull up until they had evacuated the field.

LESSONS LEARNED:

On November 8, 2009 at about 0200 hrs we got a call to set up a LZ for a helicopter who was carrying a man who had been lost on a near by mountain. As we were setting up the LZ we heard the helo circle and then start to land before we were set up. The Chief and Assistant Chief were in the field setting out the lights for the LZ when the helo attempted to land and had to pull up until they had evacuated the field.

 

Sunday, August 30, 2009  Our engine and ambulance arrived on scene of a single overturned vehicle and the female EMT was attending to the lone male patient. He said he was not injured and did not wish to be treated. A smell of alcohol was noticed. The Sheriff's office arrived and began a sobriety test. At this point a semi automatic handgun was removed from the occupant’s waist band under his shirt. He had a permit and was not cited for DUI. No further action was necessary and our services were no longer needed.
LESSONS LEARNED:
Even though we will certainly miss things for one reason or another, we must at least prepare for every possible scenario. The female EMT always kept her distance and never turned her back on the man. She waited for the engine crew followed shortly by the Sheriff's Office and then she proceeded to make contact.
 

Sunday, June 21, 2009  Our Rescue responded to a single vehicle MVA into a tree with multiple entrapments. While the Rescue is doing walk around car to check for hazards and injuries a FF stands on driver’s side of car and a loose tree branch swings and hits him in the back, driving him into the car. The 10 inch thick branch is removed by rescue and engine company FF’s and the FF was treated and removed to ER by EMS. Five hours later he is still being tested in the hospital for back, neck, and shoulder injuries. His turnout gear cushioned some of the blow and helmet save his head.

Lessons Learned: Obviously turnout gear is a must on all calls and we need to widen our safety check prior to beginning rescue evolutions.