May 7th, 2008
Story by: Brian
McCarthy, Firefighter/EMT
At
1626 Hours, the Longwood Fire Company was dispatched to eastbound
Route 926 west of Route 52 for an Auto Accident with Entrapment.
Initial reports stated that three vehicles were involved,
a tractor trailer was leaking diesel fuel and a female was
trapped in a blue Chevy Cavalier. Ambulance 24-2 of the Kennett
Fire Company was returning from a transport assignment and
happened to come across the accident. Ambulance 24-2 pulled
onto Cartmel Drive, confirmed the entrapment and added that
approximately 50 gallons of diesel fuel was leaking from a
large furniture truck. Ambulance 24-2 treated the driver of
one of the vehicles involved for a small laceration and the
driver and passenger of the truck refused treatment. Within
2 minutes of the dispatch, MICU 25-1 and Assistant 25 responded
and once on scene, changed the location to eastbound Route
926 east of Route 52. Assistant 25 assumed "926 Command"
and Captain 25A assumed "Operations" as Engine 25-2
responded. Deputy 25 controlled the leaking diesel fuel with
the help of bystanders.
Rescue
25 responded a minute later after loading up on additional
containment supplies based on the reports of large amounts
of diesel fuel covering the roadway. Once on scene, the Engine
stabilized the vehicle and started to remove the glass, doors,
and roof of the vehicle. The Rescue proceeded in from the
opposite side of the scene using Parkersville Road, set up
the hydraulic rams for a dash roll and then helped the Engine
crew with removing the doors and roof.
It
was then determined that the patient would need the flown
to a trauma center bringing Penn Star 2 to the scene. Chief
25 assumed the Landing Zone Officer's position and Rescue
36 from the Po-Mar-Lin Fire Company responded to assist with
setting up an LZ. The patient was extricated 23 minutes after
dispatch and transported to the LZ by MICU 25-1 where they
were flown to the Christiana Hospital. The Engine and Rescue
crews began breaking down the operation and cleaning up the
diesel fuel. By the end of the incident, the crews had used
two 20' hazmat booms, three 10' hazmat booms, 100 adsorbent
pads and more than 10 bags of oil dry to contain the spill.
The Volunteers worked for another hour to clean up the mess
and returned to the station at 1818 Hours.
Responding
units: Engine 25-2,
Rescue 25, MICU 25-1, MICU 25-3, Traffic 25, Utility 25
Mutual
Aid units: PennStar,
Kennett Fire Company, Po-Mar-Lin Fire Company
Photos courtesy of: Tom
Amico
