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Not Your Average Pool Rescue

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The Times Tribune.com Reports:

SCRANTON, PA – City firefighters had to cut apart a pool table Wednesday night to rescue a young boy who twisted his arm shoulder-deep in a hole to reach the cue ball.

The boy, who is 8 or 9 years old, was stuck for a half-hour in the table at the Comfort Suites hotel, Acting Lt. John Judge said.

Firefighters used saws, chisels and hammers to pry apart the table. It was a surgical rescue, Lt. Judge said. And though it was his first time saving someone from billiards, it was familiar territory for veteran firefighter Mike Grimes, which gave the Rescue 1 crew a ready game plan.

Body lotion from the hotel was used to finally slip the boy’s arm free. He was unharmed.

Posted by Gary Sharp on August 5, 2010 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, news, patient-management, rescues, special-operations

Base Jumper Spends the Night Hanging from Cliff. Gets Rescued then Arrested

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Photo by King5 TV

KING 5 News and Associated Press Report:

MOUNT BARING, Wash. — Authorities say a BASE jumper who spent the night hanging from parachute straps on Mount Baring was rescued Tuesday and flown to Granite Falls where he was arrested for an unrelated case in Skagit County. Sheriff’s Deputy Will Reichardt says 44-year-old Eldon Burrier of Lynnwood was booked into jail on a district court warrant accusing him of reckless endangerment in May at a Washington state park. Burrier was released because of overcrowding at the jail in Mount Vernon. (more…)

Posted by Gary Sharp on August 4, 2010 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, news, patient-management, rescues, special-operations • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Suspicious Odor Evacuates Florida Value Place Motel

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Photo by Bruce Graner / bgraner@pnj.com

About 100 residents of the Value Place Motel in Escambia, Florida were evacuated into the streets while police, fire, and hazmat responders searched the hotel for the source of a suspicious stank.  Responders feared the fumes may be from a meth lab in one of  the hotel rooms.  In the end, responders did not find the source of the mystery odor, and allowed the patrons to return to their rooms.

Posted by Gary Sharp on August 3, 2010 • Filed under: hazmat, mass-casualty-incident, news, special-operations • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Crews Conduct a Level A Entry for a Chlorine Leak at a Virginia Water Treatment Plant

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Waynesboro, VA public works crews reported a leak in a one-ton container of chlorine at the water treatment plant. The employees were able to shut  the valve off as they evacuated the building.  There were no reports of injuries.

Waynesboro fire department responded and dressed out responders in level A PPE.

NBC29.com reports ”Their actions in cutting the valve off, the only thing remaining to leak out in the system was what residual chlorine pressurized,” explained Kenny Hyden with the Waynesboro Fire Department. “By the time our crews were assembled in fully encapsulated suits and made entry into the building, there was no active chlorine leak at that point.”

Posted by Gary Sharp on August 3, 2010 • Filed under: hazmat, special-operations • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Editorial: US&R and Water Rescue by Mick Mayers

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Responders prepare to mark a house during Hurricane Katrina SAR Operations. Photo by USCG Petty Officer Robert M. Reed

Guest Editorial by Mick Mayers: I have long been a proponent of adding water response capability to the US&R bag o’ tricks, but the extent of capability must be objectively assessed by team leaders before launching into this mission wholesale. (more…)

Posted by Gary Sharp on August 1, 2010 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, rescues, special-operations • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Multi-Agency Rescue Effort Frees Man from Trench in Pennsylvania

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A group of 5 men set out to help install a french drain at a Pennsylvania home, when one of them became trapped in the trench they dug.  A wall of dirt gave way trapping the man to his chest in the 6 foot deep by 4 foot wide trench.  Numerous fire, EMS, and police agencies from across Allegancy county worked together to fee the man.

Photo from baldwinems.com

Photo by baldwinems.com

According to the PittsburgChannel.com: Alvin Henderson, assistant chief for Allegheny County Emergency Services, said crush syndrome was a concern because it can set in almost immediately as the weight of the dirt cuts off circulation to the legs and lower extremities.

Click Here to See the News Video

More Incident photos are posted on Badlwin EMS’s homepage

Posted by Gary Sharp on August 1, 2010 • Filed under: ems-topics, fire-rescue-topics, news, patient-management, rescues, special-operations, videos • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

LA Building Explosion Likely due to illegal gas line hook up

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AP Photo/Gus Ruelas

Two men were killed when a Los Angeulus industrial building exploded and collapsed.  One man was thrown into the street as a result of the blast, the second was electrocuted when he contacted a down power line attempting to move his truck.

LAFD PIO Erik Scott reports the LAFD’s response to the 100×100 commercial building included: 16 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 11 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 3 Arson Units, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 Rehab Unit, 2 Hazardous Materials Teams, 3 EMS Battalion Captains, 3 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, 2 bull dozers

The Urban Search and Rescue Team, was then able to eliminate hazards and shore up beams, allowing a safer environment to perform a detailed and thorough search. K9 units were utilized to locate anyone possibly trapped under the rubble, however there were no hits and no additional victims were found.

Posted by Gary Sharp on July 31, 2010 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, hazmat, major-incidents, news, patient-management, rescues, special-operations

US Coast Guard Helo Hoists 17 year old boy off Oregon cliff

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ASTORIA, Ore. – A 17 year-old boy is hoisted into an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter after falling from a 200-foot cliff at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Lewis and Clark State Park, Wash., Sunday, July 25, 2010. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria, Ore. responded to the scene, hoisted the boy and transported him to Columbia Memorial Hospital.

U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Josh Hollingshead.

Posted by Gary Sharp on July 31, 2010 • Filed under: news, patient-management, rescues, special-operations • Tagged: , , , , ,

FDNY and NYPD team to complete a water rescue Hat Trick in the east river

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Photo by Robert Miller - New York Post

When a intoxicated man jumped from  a pier into the East River, his friend jumped in an attempt to rescue him.  Next a good samaritan dove in, trying to lend a hand.  Soon the trio were all in trouble. An NYPD detective was the first to arrive, and jump into the water.  The NY Post Reports “Detective Andy Bershad, said he untied his shoe laces, emptied his pockets en route to the call”.   Bershad held the victims head above water until FDNY arrived,

When Engine Co. 53 and Ladder 43 arrived, several firefighters leaped into the river.  They were able to pull all the victims from the water.

The NY Post interviewed a Battalion Chief as the scene was wrapping up: “Right now it looks like everyone is going to survive. Two of them weren’t in the greatest shape,” said FDNY Battalion Chief Jim Gintey. “I don’t want to speculate on what could have been – but it was a good thing that they got them when they did.”

Posted by Gary Sharp on July 31, 2010 • Filed under: news, rescues, special-operations • Tagged: , , , , ,

Worker Pulled from Peanut Silo by FD and Virginia Beach Tech Rescue

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Photo by Ron Spears III

The Suffolk News Herald Reports:

A 46-year-old employee of Birdsong Peanut Co. was pulled to safety Thursday morning from a peanut storage silo into which he had fallen more than 90 minutes earlier.

The man, whom officials have not yet identified, was uninjured and refused medical transport or treatment after firefighters pulled him out of the silo. In fact, he climbed down the ladder from the top of the silo without assistance.

It was a happy ending to a tense morning at Birdsong’s Factory Street property, where firefighters had at one point even considered dismantling the 50-foot silo where the man was slowly sinking further into the pile of peanuts inside.

“It was a long process,” Battalion Chief F.T. “Ted” Adams said. “We looked at every angle possible.”

Click Here to Read the Full Story.

Posted by Gary Sharp on July 30, 2010 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, news, patient-management, rescues, special-operations • Tagged: , , , , ,