Multiple units from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad responded June 22 to a Metro train collision that, according to media reports, took nine lives and injured approximately 70 people.
Medics 741, 741D, and 741E; and Ambulances 741B and 741C responded to the scene with many other units from D.C., Montgomery County, and other jurisdictions (including Montgomery County’s 20-patient Ambulance Bus, staffed partly with a B-CC Rescue Squad crew).
In addition, Rescue Squad 741 (one of the B-CC Rescue Squad’s heavy rescue units) was transferred to D.C. Engine 24, to backfill for D.C. units that were committed to the train incident and other calls. Additional B-CC Rescue Squad volunteers staffed EMS units and Rescue Squad 741B, the Squad’s second heavy rescue unit, at the Squad’s Headquarters to respond to calls in the Squad’s service area.
According to media reports, one Metro commuter train collided with another train heading in the same direction on Metro’s Red line, on a section of above-ground track between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations in Northeast Washington during the evening rush hour.
Media reports stated that approximately 70 passengers were transported to various D.C. hospitals, as fire/rescue crews remained on the scene for hours searching for additional patients in the wreckage.
After clearing the Metro train incident, two of the B-CC transport units (Medic 741 and Ambulance 741C) were transferred to D.C. fire stations and remained there into the evening to respond to calls as needed.
To long-time Squad members, the incident evoked memories of the Rescue Squad’s response to a Metro train derailment that took three lives on January 13, 1982. On that day, multiple units from the B-CC Rescue Squad were initially dispatched during a raging snow storm to the crash of an Air Florida passenger plane into the 14th Street Bridge. The units were later re-routed to the Metro train derailment in downtown Washington.
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Friday, June 26, 2009
Rescue Squad Uses New Cutters on Early Morning Auto Extrication
It took B-CC units, along with units from Chevy Chase and Kensington, more than 45 minutes to extricate a seriously pinned patient on Connecticut Avenue in the early Sunday morning hours on June 7.
This was the first major use of the Rescue Squad’s new Amkus Model 22 hydraulic cutters that were placed in service June 3rd, thanks to a grant from Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company and Chevy Chase-based Howard Insurance Agency, Inc. (The cutters replaced an older Amkus model the Squad had been using and are designed to cut the stronger frame components prevalent on newer cars today.
At 0201 hours, Rescue Squad 741 and Medic 741 were dispatched with Chevy Chase Engine 707 to a single vehicle crash with a report of one pinned and one unconscious. Subsequently, Kensington Engine 705 was dispatched to provide additional manpower.
Engine 707 found the accident on Connecticut Avenue, between Manor Road and Jones Bridge Road, where a black 4-door Chevy Tahoe had struck a tree in the median strip at a high rate of speed. The point of impact was the driver’s side (front left) corner of the vehicle, and the impact had pushed the engine block back into the driver, pinning his legs.
After stabilizing the vehicle, RS 741’s crew first removed the driver’s side front and rear doors and then immediately cut the B, C, and D posts on both sides of the vehicle. Simultaneously, the crew of Engine 707 from Chevy Chase cut the windshield and A posts on both sides. After the last cut, the roof was removed. They then had to make a relief cut on the passenger side in order to push the dash away from the patient’s legs. This was complicated by the fact that the door frame on the driver’s side had been distorted to provide no purchase point for inserting a hydraulic ram.
Firefighter Paul Morales, who used the new cutters, remarked afterwards that they made his job of cutting the door posts quicker and easier. “It was like cutting through butter,” he said.
After removing the patient, Medic 741 transported an adult male with compound tib-fib fractures to the Suburban Hospital trauma center.
This was the first major use of the Rescue Squad’s new Amkus Model 22 hydraulic cutters that were placed in service June 3rd, thanks to a grant from Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company and Chevy Chase-based Howard Insurance Agency, Inc. (The cutters replaced an older Amkus model the Squad had been using and are designed to cut the stronger frame components prevalent on newer cars today.
At 0201 hours, Rescue Squad 741 and Medic 741 were dispatched with Chevy Chase Engine 707 to a single vehicle crash with a report of one pinned and one unconscious. Subsequently, Kensington Engine 705 was dispatched to provide additional manpower.
Engine 707 found the accident on Connecticut Avenue, between Manor Road and Jones Bridge Road, where a black 4-door Chevy Tahoe had struck a tree in the median strip at a high rate of speed. The point of impact was the driver’s side (front left) corner of the vehicle, and the impact had pushed the engine block back into the driver, pinning his legs.
After stabilizing the vehicle, RS 741’s crew first removed the driver’s side front and rear doors and then immediately cut the B, C, and D posts on both sides of the vehicle. Simultaneously, the crew of Engine 707 from Chevy Chase cut the windshield and A posts on both sides. After the last cut, the roof was removed. They then had to make a relief cut on the passenger side in order to push the dash away from the patient’s legs. This was complicated by the fact that the door frame on the driver’s side had been distorted to provide no purchase point for inserting a hydraulic ram.
Firefighter Paul Morales, who used the new cutters, remarked afterwards that they made his job of cutting the door posts quicker and easier. “It was like cutting through butter,” he said.
After removing the patient, Medic 741 transported an adult male with compound tib-fib fractures to the Suburban Hospital trauma center.
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad Appreciation Night at Bethesda Big Train Baseball - Saturday, July 11, 7:00 pm
What could be more fun than a summer evening of baseball, rescue trucks, and ambulances? Bring the kids! Bethesda Big Train Baseball will honor the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad for its service to the community on Saturday, July 11.
Rescue Squad ambulances and rescue trucks will be at the game for kids and adults to enjoy. Firefighters and rescuers will hand out giveaways to kids and provide information on how you can help the Rescue Squad to serve the community. Men and women ages 18 and up can also learn about volunteering with the Rescue Squad and becoming Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics, Firefighters, and Dispatchers.
Location: Shirley Povich Field, Cabin John Regional Park, 10600 Westlake Drive, Bethesda, Maryland. (near Montgomery Mall).
Join us for this fun-filled event on July 11, at 7:00 pm. Gates open at 6:00 pm. For information on gametime and purchasing tickets, call 301 983-1006 or visit www.bigtrain.org.
Rescue trucks and ambulances will arrive shortly before the game for kids and families to explore. The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad thanks Bethesda Big Train for its generous support. For more information, visit http://www.bccrs.org/news/BethesdaBigTrain2009.html
Rescue Squad ambulances and rescue trucks will be at the game for kids and adults to enjoy. Firefighters and rescuers will hand out giveaways to kids and provide information on how you can help the Rescue Squad to serve the community. Men and women ages 18 and up can also learn about volunteering with the Rescue Squad and becoming Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics, Firefighters, and Dispatchers.
Location: Shirley Povich Field, Cabin John Regional Park, 10600 Westlake Drive, Bethesda, Maryland. (near Montgomery Mall).
Join us for this fun-filled event on July 11, at 7:00 pm. Gates open at 6:00 pm. For information on gametime and purchasing tickets, call 301 983-1006 or visit www.bigtrain.org.
Rescue trucks and ambulances will arrive shortly before the game for kids and families to explore. The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad thanks Bethesda Big Train for its generous support. For more information, visit http://www.bccrs.org/news/BethesdaBigTrain2009.html
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