CUTTING EDGE
Designed for emergency rescue personnel who want to share their vehicle extrication experiences for the purpose of learning and sharing with others.  If you  would like to share your rescue or extrication experiences, please contact SAFE.

June 6, 2006

On June 6th, 2006 on Hwy 19 in Wisconsin, a Semi turned on its side and a car wedged under the trailer. Interesting thing was that the car was jammed in between the rear duals and the DOT bar (bumper). The entire drivers’ side of the car was blocked by the DOT bar.

Driver had lower leg injuries, facial injuries, and a broken jaw. He also was missing his right arm, however, that was not from this accident, but it sure threw us for a loop.

The roof and dash were impacted down.

Without lifting the trailer, our options were limited and we decided to remove the DOT bar to then access the door which would allow us to access the dash to then access the victim.

The hydraulic cutter was first tried to bite into the DOT bar with no results. Two sawzalls then went to work and cut the bar off in just a few minutes. A 5th door was then preformed and a very tricky dash lift was done from the outside, but almost right on the patient. The seat was then tilted back and his legs freed by interior medics.

The extrication took nearly 30 minutes though. I guess his next pin is free.

Asst. Chief Daniel Furseth

January 1, 2005

Here are photos from a crash in the early evening of 1/1/2005 during an ice storm. There were a total of 5 injury accidents within 5 miles of this one at the same time. The pickup truck hopped the median and took this 97 Mazda near head on the driver's side. The female driver was pinned by the driver’s side door, A-pillar, dash, and rocker panel that rolled over her feet.

DeForest Fire and Rescue

February 9, 2005

An extremely lucky driver lost control of his vehicle on a snowy road this morning.  The vehicle went broadside into a creek and rolled over on its roof.  The driver, pinned by position and seatbelt, was holding his face above water by only 2 inches.  All doors were jammed.

Roger Atkinson and Eric Fairfield of the DeForest Area Fire / EMS, put on two cold water suits, while Daniel Furseth and Ron Reigstad of the DeForest Area Fire / EMS jumped in without.  The vehicle was resting on some submerged rocks that kept it elevated.  Where the rescuers were standing near the door, the water was about 3-4 feet deep.

The vehicle was secured with the winch off the front of Squad 1.  A Combi-tool was used to open the passengers door.  One problem was, the driver was holding onto the passengers door handle to hold his head above water, so once the door would be opened, he would go under.  The victim was conscious and alert, but suffering from severe hypothermia.

The door was opened from the bottom (now top) to peek inside and to hold the victims hand in place of the door.  The door was then opened.  Eric Fairfield went inside the vehicle and found the victim trapped by the seatbelt but had a tough time trying to locate it to cut due to everything being under water.

At that time, Ron Atkinson started attacking the driver's side of the car to try and access the victim.  Just as the door was opened, Eric Fairfield got the seatbelt cut and the victim was pulled out and laid in a stokes basket on the creek bank which was now glare ice and steep.

With mutual aid from Waunakee Fire the victim was brought up and out into a rig.

If this crash had happened 24 hour earlier, this would have probably been a fatal due to the water being 2 feet higher at the time.

Hint of the day:  Keep a lot of towels and blankets in the WARM part of the truck.

October 9, 2005

This was a double fatal crash that occurred on October 9th, 2005. The red Suburban crossed the median crashing head on into the Ford Escape and then crashed into the Ford from the rear. The driver of the Ford was killed instantly. There was a 4 year-old daughter in the back seat that as severely injured and was removed from the vehicle prior to our arrival.

The driver of the Suburban was pinned under the dash with multiple leg fractures. The door was cut and a ram was used to push the dash back into place. Rapid extrication was used at that point. The driver later died at the emergency room. The female passenger in the Suburban was severely injured with a questionable outlook for recovery.

Recovery of the fatal driver of the Ford Escape consisted of 5th door after a dash push with a ram.

Asst. Chief Daniel Furseth
DeForest Fire and Rescue

 

October 10, 2005

This was a high speed rollover accident which occurred on October 10th, 2005 involving a single driver who rolled several times. The driver’s arm was pinned under the roof through the sunroof.

Struts were put in place and a chain comealong was used to lift them together in order to life the vehicle off of his arm. The rescue continued as we tunneled through the trunk to remove the driver. The extrication took 12 minutes in total.

The driver’s injuries were minor other than a large head gash. The driver was arrested for a DWI.

Asst. Chief Daniel Furseth
DeForest Fire and Rescue