Choking Victim Saved by Medic Crew and Engine Crew

September 24, 2009


A woman eating dinner in a retirement community began choking on her food and, despite her efforts to clear her airway, went into respiratory distress and became unconscious. The woman’s airway was occluded by food lodged in her trachea (windpipe), which prevented enough air from flowing in and out of her lungs.

Medic 741 and Chevy Chase Engine 707 were dispatched at about 1855 hours on Thursday, September 24 to render aid. Engine 707 arrived first, found the patient unconscious, and began performing chest compressions and suctioning in an attempt to dislodge the food in her trachea and open her airway. Medic 741 arrived shortly thereafter, took control of the incident, assessed the patient, and continued life saving interventions.

While the engine crew continued chest compressions, the Medic 741 Paramedic and Emergency Medical Technician made attempts to suction the patient’s airway and locate and remove the source of the obstruction. When their suctioning attempts on scene failed to remove the blockage, the crews quickly moved the patient to the medic unit, and continued efforts to open the patient’s airway en route to the hospital. With Engine 707 providing manpower, the Paramedic and crew performed aggressive suctioning, applied oxygen, and used a direct laryngoscopy technique (visualizing the airway using a special instrument that lights the upper airway and magnifies an image of the area) to remove the foreign object. After many attempts, the Paramedic removed several pieces of food from the patient’s trachea. The patient regained consciousness and began breathing normally.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the crews transferred the patient to the emergency department where the patient recovered sufficiently to sit up and speak to the medic and engine crews and hospital staff without assistance.



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Busy Day in Bethesda

October 16, 2009

A cold, rainy day highlighted by an afternoon trap job kept the Rescue Squad units extremely busy on Friday, October 16.

Rescue Squad units ran 29 separate calls in a 12-hour period from approximately 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. These included 18 vehicle collisions on slippery roads caused by a day-long drizzle and heavy traffic throughout Bethesda. A dozen of the calls were on the Beltway or other high-speed limited access highways.

At about 1315 hours, Rescue Squad 741 responded to a personal injury collision at Jones Mill Road and Gunnell Drive, the south entrance to Bethesda Naval Hospital. Upon arriving on scene, they quickly stabilized the vehicle and popped open the driver’s door using hydraulic spreaders and cutters, allowing access to the victim by the ambulance crew.

In addition to the 19 calls run by the Heavy Rescue Squad truck, BLS and ALS units responded to 10 calls, and Battalion Chief Frank Gaegler, the daytime shift supervisor, responded to 6 calls.


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