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Grapevine-Chavies VFD'S ATV Rescue Team Performs 1st Off-Road Rescue One Week After Receiving Equipment -- On One Of Their Own!
PERRY COUNTY, KENTUCKY
April 12, 2008
On Saturday, April 5, 2008, members of the Grapevine - Chavies Volunteer Fire Department's new "ATV Rescue Team" took delivery of an All Terrain Res-Q Trailer from ///EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT at the Knott County ATV Safety Training Center. Built by the Empire Welding & Fabicating Co. of Cortland, New York, the purchase of this life saving equipment was funded by YAMAHA Motor Corporation, USA. The day before, their local Yamaha dealer, 'Andy's Cycles of Hazard, Kentucky,' arranged to provide the new ATV Team with a Yamaha 660 Rhino UTV as a tow vehicle for their new off-road rescue trailer.
So, on Thursday, April 10, 2008, Mike Brady from ///EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT conducted an ATV Rescue Trailer "Orientation Session" at their fire station in Chavies, KY. One of the members present for the training was Captain Eric Pratt. Pratt, a volunteer firefighter for Grapevine - Chavies VFD, is also a lineman for the Elliott Power Company in Perry County, Kentucky. During the orientation session, Brady emphasized the need for ALL the rescue team's ATV / UTV operators to experience what it's like to be a patient being hauled out on an All Terrain Res-Q Trailer. So, Pratt (all 6'-4" / 375 lbs. of him) laid himself in the basket stretcher and was "taken for a ride" on the new off-road patient transportation device.
Now, fast-forward just two days later, when an adjoining agency, the Jakes Branch VFD, receives a call for help from a "power line worker injured on the mountain above Lost Creek" while replacing a power pole damaged during a recent storm. Hearing the dispatch, and knowing the terrain, Assistant Chief Ben Stidham of Grapevine - Chavies VFD offers the services of their new "Off-Road Rescue" equipment to Jakes Branch VFD. Fortunately, the offer is accepted. After a lengthly "technical / rope rescue operation" the patient was delivered to the "ATV Rescue Team" from Grapevine - Chavies VFD. Still over a mile from the nearest landing zone, the Grapevine - Chavies VFD ATV Rescue Team crew had to take a seriously injured worker over rough terrain to a waiting "Wings Air Rescue" helicoptor so he would have the best chance for survival.
What made this first run more difficult was it involved one of their own! Yes, Captain Eric Pratt, Grapevine - Chavies VFD, was the lineman severly injured when a power pole fell on him while working to restore power to Perry County residents on a steep mountainside above Lost Creek, Kentucky. Even when untrained off-road rescuers expressed concerns over the stability of the All Terrain Res-Q Trailer, the Grapevine - Chavies ATV Rescue Team crew relied on their training, and safely delivered the injured worker, and fellow firefighter, to the WINGS MEDEVAC helcopter LZ.
Story Courtesy of Mike Brady
///Emergency Equipment and Empire Welding & Fabricating Co., Inc. Team Up to Provide All Terrain Res-Q Trailer to Kentucky's New ATV Safety & Rescue Training Program
KNOTT COUNTY, KENTUCKY
April 11, 2008
Unfortunately, Kentucky continues to lead the nation in All Terrain Vehicle fatalities. However, a group of dedicated professionals are working to change that.
So, on a cold, wet and windy early spring Saturday morning in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky, instructors from the new Kentucky "ATV Safety and Rescue Training Program" gathered to participate in the first ever "ATV Safety and Rescue R&D Weekend." The purpose of this gathering was to better understand what the ATVs and UTVs used in this program could do, and perhaps more importantly, what they could not do. The site for this unique gathering was the new "KNOTT COUNTY ATV SAFETY TRAINING CENTER" at the Sutton Memorial Park, located near Vest, in Knott County Kentucky.
As the weekend itinerary commenced, the first event was presentation of an All Terrain Res-Q Trailer for use in the training program's ATV Safety & Rescue classes planned to be taught to emergency responders statewide. Mr. Dale Dobson, program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's "Farm and Home Safety Training Program" accepted the off-road rescue trailer from Mike Brady, of ///EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT, the master distributor for All Terrain Res-Q. Brady stated: "With 64 of these life saving off-road rescue trailers now serving in 26 US states, All Terrain Res-Qs are literally Coast to Coast, and then some!"
Participating in the ATV Safety and Rescue R&D Weekend were the management and staff of the Knott County ATV Safety Training Center, instructors from the KDA Farm & Home Safety Program, representatives of ///Emergency Equipment, the crew of LifeNet MEDEVAC helicopter service, members of LaRue County Fire & Rescue, Hazard Fire & Rescue, Ball Creek VFD, Salyersville Fire & Rescue's "Rhino ResQ Team" and personnel from the newly formed Grapevine - Chavies VFD "ATV Rescue Team" of Perry County. In all, a dozen volunteer rescue personnel utilized ten 4X4 ATVs and UTVs, plus four "All Terrain Res-Q Trailers" during the two-day learning experience.
Story Courtesy of Mike Brady
Tyler Mountain VFD ATV Rescue Team trains with new All Terrain Res-Q trailer
CROSS LANES, WEST VIRGINIA
March 22, 2008
Rescuers in Kanawha County, West Virginia, now have a better way to transport sick or injured persons out of the woods. A new "All Terrain Res-Q Trailer" has been acquired by the "ATV Rescue Team" at Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department in Cross Lanes, WV. Now, rescue team members can safely transport patients from remote off-road rescue scenes to a waiting ambulance, or medical evacuation helicopter, without the need for 8 to 12 men and women to carry 1 person in a litter, or on a backboard. In stead, a 4-wheel drive all terrain vehicle (ATV) will pull the rescue trailer to a scene, where as few as 3 rescuers (the average ambulance crew) can load and transport the patient, while providing emergency medical care throughout the run.
Purchased with donations from the community, the new all terrain rescue trailer (ATR) was ordered with several additional options and accessories to assist EMTs and Paramedics as they render aid to the victim. Options, like the attendant's seat and a medical/defibrillator tray, plus a sealed battery powered LED patient light will make patient care easier and more efficient. Also, a new basket stretcher (a Stoke's type litter) with a "1,200 pound capacity" was ordered to be used with the ATV rescue trailer. This basket stretcher has a double fully welded stainless steel frame which, if needed, can be equipped with a bridle sling and hoisted into the air by a technical or rope rescue team, or a rescue helicopter.
Delivery of the All Terrain Res-Q Trailer included a 3 hour "Orientation Session" conducted at the Poca Hunting & Fishing Club. Staff members at this private club remarked "This is certainly a lot better than how we have been doing it over the years. I bet we've carried a dozen out on foot since I've been here." TMVFD Lt. James Hill, the ATV Rescue Team leader followed that statement with "We've had 12 calls over the last two-and-a half years in our response area where we could have used this!"
While there are a few other departments in West Virginia using off-road trailers for rescue, Tyler Mountain's new All Terrain Res-Q Trailer is the first of its' kind in the state. Most of the other ATV rescue trailers in use are homemade designs, or modified small utility trailers. However, the ATR in service at Tyler Mountain was designed and built from the ground up for one purpose:
"The safe and efficient transportation of sick or injured persons from off-road locations to a waiting ambulance or medical helicopter."
Story Courtesy of Mike Brady
Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Uses 'UTV & TRAILER' to Rescue Injured Connecticut Woman
Sandy Hook, Connecticut
March 14, 2008
A midmorning, late winter walk with her two dogs ended in a dangerous fall for an unidentified Sandy Hook, Connecticut resident. Rescuers from the "Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company" responded and found the injured woman at the bottom of an extremely steep and muddy embankment adjacent to Gelding Hill Road. The woman is believed to have been down for almost an hour in the cold air and mud before a neighbor heard calls for help. Cold, but conscious and alert, Sandy Hook First Responders discovered the victim was suffering from an ankle injury sustained during the fall.
Upon arrival, Sandy Hook's Fire Chief, Bill Halstead, immediately called for "Forest Rescue Unit 446" -- a 2006 Ingersol Rand - Club Car XRT off-road 4X4 rescue vehicle equipped with an All Terrain Res-Q Trailer. Unit 446 is a diesel powered off-road utility vehicle equipped with a 2500 pound winch and the All Terrain Res-Q patient transport trailer. This scene was perfectly suited for the specialized off-road rescue equipment. Before the operation was complete, Sandy Hook's members would learn just how well suited!
Assisted by personnel from the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the injured woman received 'professional emergency medical care' at the scene. Once packaged in a litter and secured safely on the All Terrain Res-Q Trailer, the patient was monitored by Sandy Hook VFC's EMS personnel riding with her all the way to the top of the hill on the trailer's medical attendant's seat.
As wet slippery mud covered frozen ground, rescuers described conditions as "extreme." As such, the conditions required some creative thinking. So, the winch cable from Forest Rescue 446 was deployed and secured to a tree at the top of the steep hill. Remaining along side the off-road utility vehicle, Sandy Hook Volunteers combined the power of the Club Car's 719cc diesel engine with its 2500 pound winch and All Terrain Res-Q Trailer, to safely haul the injured woman up the hill to a waiting Newtown Ambulance.
In the words of Karin Halstead, Sandy Hook VFC's EMS Captain: "I really can't give an amount of time it would've taken without the UTV and rescue trailer. But, it would have been a lot longer because the ground was very slippery. Also, there would've been a greater chance for a rescuer to be injured, or the patient to be hurt if one of us fell during the carry out."
Story Courtesy of Mike Brady
Manchester Vol. Fire Dept. "ATV Rescue Team" gets 1st SAVE with All Terrain Res-Q Trailer!
MANCHESTER VOL. FIRE & RESCUE
Clay County and Leslie County, Kentucky
Thursday, May 24, into Friday, May 25, 2007
A little thing like advanced diabetes wasn't going to keep this 69 year-old avid ATV rider from enjoying a perfect spring day on the REDBIRD CREST TRAIL that begins in Clay County, and continues into Leslie County, Kentucky. Having set out at 10:00 AM that day, his family reported him "over due" at 5:30 PM; and for good reasons. Upon receiving a "missing report," the Clay County EMA Director activated a well rehearsed plan that sent "hasty teams" toward the last know point of contact with the rider. From there, teams began their search under the direction of the Clay County SAR Coordinator, who also happens to be a local Redbird, Kentucky area resident.
Not knowing how far the elderly rider planed to travel on the trail that day, the hasty teams continued their search until a decision was made to call them in around 1:30 AM, Friday morning. As one of the teams was returning, a Clay County Sheriff's Deputy on an ATV, heard a faint call for help. On a side trail, over one-half mile off the 4X4 logging trail that comprises a large portion of the REDBIRD CREST TRAIL, the rescuer found this 69 year-old rider near the bottom of a ravine, pinned under his overturned ATV, over 4 and one-half miles away from the nearest ambulance access.
Upon location of the missing rider, the Manchester Fire Department's ATV Rescue Team, a Polaris 700cc ATV equipped with a new ATR-1, All Terrain Res-Q Trailer, disembarked from the staging area in the direction of the ATV accident scene. On board the rescue trailer was a certified Paramedic and a supply of "Advanced Life Support" equipment. In effect, "a trained paramedic and ALS system was transported to the patient" 4-1/2 miles out on an ATV trail at 1:30 AM in the morning.
Once on scene, the 69 year-old man was found to be in remarkably good condition; considering this person requires 3 daily injections and a consistent diet to remain healthy. However, after several hours of being pinned under an overturned ATV, with no food, no water or medications, a few hours more and this story would not have a happy ending.
Taking the terrain, trail conditions and medical needs of the man into consideration, a decision was made to haul the patient out on the All Terrain Res-Q Trailer. However, for added safety, a second 700cc ATV was positioned in front of the tow vehicle, and tethered to the primary tow vehicle. In effect, "a two ATV tether operation" was performed. During the ascent back up the narrow side trail, the wisdom of this decision proved itself when, in the dark, the rescue trailer slipped into the same +20 inch tire rut that caused the overturn of the victim's ATV on the previous afternoon.
The multipoint suspension of the All Terrain Res-Q Trailer worked and the trailer remained upright. However, the left trailer tire (on the down hill side), sustained significant lateral loading (estimated at over 660 LB's) and lost air pressure during the event. Upon further evaluation of the situation, the decision was made to continue the two ATV tethered pull, with the flat tire, until the rescue team reached the 4X4 logging trail 1/2 mile later. Once there, the patient was transferred to a Sheriff's Department 4X4 vehicle for the remaining 4 mile ride to a waiting ambulance.
In the words of the Clay County EMA Director: "As narrow and rugged as the side trail was, the only other way the man was going to be hauled out of this location was by a bull dozer, the next morning. The trailer did its' job!"
Clay County, KY
Story Courtesy of Mike Brady
Cutshin Fire & Rescue
CUTSHIN VOL. FIRE & RESCUE
Leslie County, Kentucky
Sunday, April 1, 2007
On Tuesday, we called ///EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT and requested an ALL TERRAIN RES-Q TRAILER be delivered in time to be placed into service prior to an off-road racing event five days later. Fortunately, they had a new ATR-2 Res-Q Trailer in stock and it was delivered Wednesday evening. On Thursday, the volunteer members of Cutshin Fire and Rescue, familiarized themselves with the trailer as they equipped it with the necessary medical and rescue gear needed for back country emergencies. On Saturday, Cutshin's personnel practiced towing the rescue trailer with their newly acquired Suzuki 500 Vinson 4X4 ATV. At 8:00 AM Sunday morning, 10 Cutshin Fire & Rescue members, including 9 Firefighter / EMT's staged the ATV and rescue trailer at the Kentucky Hare Scrambles Championship Series event outside of Hyden, Kentucky, and awaited calls for assistance.
They didn't have to wait long. Around 9:30 AM, a 9 year-old boy took a spill on his junior-mini motocross bike and suffered a possible broken foot about a mile up the trail. Cutshin Fire and Rescue personnel responded and arrived just 5 minutes later. After stabilization and being loaded onto the all terrain rescue trailer, the boy was safely transported by Cutshin's ATV Rescue Team back down the trail to a waiting ambulance. A Cutshin Fire and Rescue BLS ambulance transported the boy to a local hospital for treatment as the ATV rescue team returned to the staging area.
In between calls requiring ATV Rescue Team response, Cutshin EMT's provided first aid to riders suffering less severe injuries. Several minor cuts, scrapes, bruises and burns were attended to until their next dispatch at about 1:30 PM. Cutshin Fire and Rescue personnel received a report of a 37 year-old woman who went off the trail on a 250cc racing motorcycle, hit a tree and continued over an embankment, ending up 70 feet below in a creek bed. The accident scene was 5 miles out from the staging area and the victim was reported to be lying in the creek complaining of an injury to her knee. Cutshin's ATV Rescue Team responded, and arrived within 20 minutes of dispatch. By utilizing a steep narrow side path, they were able to get the 4X4 ATV and rescue trailer to within 70 feet of the victim. Once on scene, the basket stretcher was removed from the off-road trailer and carried over the embankment to the victim. After packaging, additional Cutshin rescuer's carried the victim up the embankment and loaded the patient onto the rescue trailer for transport back to the ambulance staging area. The difficult 5 mile return trip took under 40 minutes, which included a brief period of pushing the ATV up a particularly steep and muddy stretch of the trail. Back at staging, a Cutshin Fire and Rescue BLS ambulance transported the woman to a local hospital for treatment. The total run time took less than one hour. After the incident, Mr. Deron Rambo, a Paramedic responsible for emergency services during Kentucky Hare Scrambles Championship Series [www.kyharescramble.com] events stated: "This rescue would have taken 4 to 5 hours had it not been for the speed and agility of Cutshin's ATV Rescue Team and All Terrain Res-Q Trailer." The final haul out of the day was a 47 year-old man who suffered a leg injury after losing control of his racing ATV. While he refused transportation by ambulance to a hospital for his injuries, he accepted a ride to his pick up truck in the new all terrain rescue trailer. Cutshin's ATV rescue personnel transported him approximately one quarter mile off the trail and into the parking area to his vehicle. It's believed he drove himself to the hospital from there.
After our experiences this day, I would encourage any department with the need to perform remote area rescues to do what you have to purchase this equipment. We called the All Terrain Res-Q dealer on a Tuesday, took delivery Wednesday, trained on Saturday and used it 3 times on Sunday. Our county is similar to other rural areas where riding and racing ATV's and MotoCross bikes has become very popular. As such, the 4X4 ATV and All Terrain Res-Q Trailer have become vital additions to our remote rescue capabilities.
If any department needs additional
information about our ATV Rescue Team,
please Call: Chief Mike Joseph 606-279-6453
Cutshin Vol. Fire And Rescue
PO Box 2
Yeaddiss, KY 41777
or Email: cutshinfiredept668 at yahoo.com
Story Courtesy of Mike Brady