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Cutshin, KY Fire and Rescue hauls 3 off trails during first day with new ATV Rescue Trailer
CUTSHIN VOL. FIRE & RESCUE
Leslie County, Kentucky
Sunday, April 1, 2007 "Three injured riders hauled off Daniel Boone Trails during first day with ATV Rescue Trailer."
In preparation to provide Emergency Medical Services support to the upcoming "Hare Scrambles" off-road racing event on Sunday, April 1, 2007, Chief Michael Joseph knew he needed a better way to haul injured motorcycle and ATV riders off the trail. So, on Tuesday Cutshin Fire and Rescue called ///EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT, master distributor for ALL TERRAIN RES-Q TRAILERS. Chief Joseph requested a rescue trailer be delivered in time to be placed into service prior to the event. Manufactured by Empire Welding & Fabrication Company in Cortland, New York, fortunately they had a new ATR-2 Res-Q Trailer in stock. This life saving piece of equipment was delivered Wednesday evening. On Thursday, volunteer members of Cutshin Fire and Rescue, familiarized themselves with the new trailer as they equipped it with the necessary medical and rescue gear needed for back country emergencies. With several experienced ATV operators in the department, on Friday and Saturday, Cutshin's personnel practiced towing the rescue trailer with their newly acquired Suzuki 500 Vinson 4X4 ATV. Finally, 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 being run on the Daniel Boone Trails in Leslie County 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; arriving on scene just 5 minutes later. After stabilization and being loaded onto the new 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 & Rescue BLS ambulance transported the boy to a local hospital for treatment as the ATV rescue team returned to staging.
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 over 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 rescuers 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 and rescue trailer 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 slightly less than one hour. After the incident, Mr. Deron Rambo, a Paramedic responsible for overseeing emergency services during all Kentucky Hare Scrambles Championship Series events stated:
"This rescue would have taken 4 to 5 hours had it not been for the speed and agility of Cutshin FD'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 on the trail. While he refused transportation to a hospital for his injuries by Cutshin's ambulance, he accepted a ride to his pick up truck in their 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.
In the words of Chief Joseph: "After our experience with the All Terrain Res-Q Trailer during this first day of ATV rescue operations, 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 of the trailer on Wednesday, equipped it on Thursday, trained with it on Friday and 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 area 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@yahoo.com.
Check out All Terrain Res-Q Trailers at: www.EEResQ.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mike Brady
///EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT
EMAIL: EEResQ@CS.COM
or
CALL: 859-359-4502
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All Terrain Res-Q™ ATV & OHV Rescue News: Posted: MAY 26, 2007
Manchester, KY FD "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
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Photo courtesy of The Kentucky Dept. of Agriculture's Farm & Home Safety Program
All Terrain Res-Q™ ATV & OHV Rescue News: Posted: JUNE 1, 2007 ATV DEATHS ON RISE IN KENTUCKY "STATE IS # 1 IN FATAL ATV WRECKS" So far this year 17 people have died in ATV wrecks in Kentucky, nearly three times the number reported by the end of May 2006. Kentucky had 21 ATV-related fatalities in both 2005 and 2006, according to Kentucky State Police. This, despite stricter laws and calls for safer riding, deaths from ATV accidents are on the rise in Kentucky, the nation's leader in fatal ATV wrecks. "We understand ATV riding is very popular in Kentucky," said Scott Wolfson, spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. "But we're very concerned about the recent upward trend in deaths." After Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are next on the commission's ranking of states with ATV-related deaths, according to the agency's 2002-2005 estimates, the most recent available. Thirteen Southern states -- from West Virginia to Louisiana -- make up 40 percent of all ATV fatalities nationally. Wolfson said three ATV-linked fatalities were reported to state police over the Memorial Day weekend, including the death of a 5-year-old girl riding a four-wheeler with her mother. Neither was wearing a helmet, despite a law passed last year requiring riders 16 and younger to wear protective head gear. Two other children -- a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old -- also have been killed this year in ATV crashes. The 16-year-old was wearing a helmet. Melinda Mast, executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Kentucky, said the state helmet law has "a very narrow focus when it only targets kids 16 and under." Lawmakers decided that regulating adult riders would be impractical. Getting safety regulations through the legislature is difficult, said Sen. Julie Denton, R-Louisville, who pushed for the ATV helmet law last year. "You have to pull teeth to get those kinds of things regulated!" Meanwhile, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and industry officials are encouraging riders to get ATV training. This month, officials from the ATV Safety Institute, an industry group, are holding training sessions at the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area in Western Kentucky. "I don't think a lot of people have an inherent sense of safety," Mast said. "However, education is probably the best way to get safe." Sgt. Travis Tennill, a state police spokesman, said: "It's hard to really draw conclusions on why they're happening other than the reckless operation of the ATVs themselves. People are operating ATVs beyond their capability." No training or licensing is required to ride ATVs. Kentucky's law stipulates fines of $20 to $50 when children are caught riding without helmets, but law-enforcement officers say the law is more about safety than punishment. State police have said officers would take action only against violators on public roadways and trails. FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY
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WHEN AN OFF-ROAD RESCUE TURNS INTO A RECOVERY... POSTED: JUNE 29, 2008 CHAVIES, KY As most readers on this website already know, when all the evidence points to the improbability of the continued survival of the subject of a search or rescue, we in the business of "emergency response" are faced with the complex decision of changing the status of a mission from a "rescue" to a "recovery." It's at this critical moment when the Incident Commander decides to change the focus of the mission from "saving a life" to "providing closure for family and friends of the presumed deceased," while limiting additional risk to rescue personnel in the process. Anyone who has made this decision, has done so only after careful consideration, usually over an extended period of time. If we perform this act professionally, with dignity and respect for the victim's body, and consideration for the safety of all involved, the emotional impact on family and friends is reduced. Sometimes, that's the best we can hope for. This article tells of a rescue mission that changed to a recovery in an instant; but with the added complexity of having family members already on scene. At 22:55 hours on Wednesday, June 18, 2008, the Grapevine - Chavies VFD received a dispatch from Perry County, Kentucky E911 Center. The dispatch stated: "A 911 caller was reporting a man who had been 'ginsenging' on a mountainside north of Chavies was now trapped, and they needed a basket stretcher to get him out." Upon arrival at the scene as it was dispatched, assistant chief Ben Stidham, a FF/EMT, was told the patient was 200 to 300 feet over the embankment where a man with a flashlight was signaling them. Given this information, Stidham proceeded down the embankment until he reached the man with the flashlight. At this point, Stidham was informed that the victim was another 500 feet down the mountain with his brothers at his side. After assessing the terrain, it was determined there was no established trail down to the position of the victim; in reality, it was a cliff. So, Stidham carefully proceeded ahead of other rescuers until he made contact with the patient's brothers. It was at this point that Stidham was informed by the victim's brothers that he (the victim) was, in fact, deceased. The brothers reported the last communication with the victim had been over 12 hours earlier. At 9 PM, about dark, the family began to look for him. Upon locating the victim almost 2 hours later, one of the family called the 911 center and requested assistance. However, because of the separation between the on-scene family members and the 911 caller, the patient's condition was not accurately conveyed to the dispatcher. Now past midnight, and finally on the scene, Stidham changed the status of this mission from a "rescue" to a "recovery." He directed his personnel to reposition to an old washed out coal road about 1000 feet below their present location. Once the road was located, a command post was established at the point where the road became impassable by conventional 4X4 vehicles. The Grapevine - Chavies VFD transported their Yamaha Rhino 4X4 "Side-bySide" off-road vehicle and "All Terrain Res-Q Trailer" to the combined CP and staging area, just inside Breathitt County, Kentucky. Three hours later, with assistance from the Pine Branch Coal Company, and members of the victim's family, the deceased was brought out and delivered to the Breathitt County Coroner where he was officially pronounced dead. It was later determined that this recovery required a combined round trip of 16 miles traveled over a washed out coal road and a steep mountainside, almost impassable by off-road vehicles. What could have taken +16 hours was achieved in just under 3 hours with the right equipment. In the words of an on-scene paramedic, "It (the Yamaha Rhino and All Terrain Res-Q Trailer) was the only way to get it done!" PERRY and BREATHITT COUNTIES, KENTUCKY JUNE 2008 * * *
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All Terrain Res-Q™ ATV & OHV Rescue News: 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 & Fabricating 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 450 Rhino "Side-By-Side" as a tow vehicle for their new rescue trailer. 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 off-road vehicle 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.) 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 Jake's Branch VFD, receives a call for help from power company workers in the area. The dispatch: "A power pole has fallen and a lineman has been seriously injured on the mountainside above Lost Creek" was heard throughout the county. Also 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 Jake's Branch VFD, and the offer is accepted. After a lengthy "technical / rope rescue operation" conducted jointly by members of Jake's Branch VFD, Lost Creek VFD and GCVFD, the patient was delivered to the ATV Rescue Team from Grapevine - Chavies. With no roads in or out of the area, and only a rugged narrow path cut by power company workers, the nearest landing zone was still almost a mile away. So, the Grapevine - Chavies ATV Rescue Team picked up a Paramedic from the waiting Perry County Ambulance Service and safely transported the injured worker over rough terrain to a waiting "Wings Air Rescue" helicopter in less than 20 minutes! At the LZ, patient care was transferred to the helicopter crew and he was flown to a trauma center in Tennessee for treatment of his injuries. What made this first run more unique was it involved one of their own! Yes, Captain Eric Pratt, of Grapevine - Chavies VFD, was the lineman injured when a power pole fell on him while working to restore electricity to Perry County residents on a steep mountainside above Lost Creek, Kentucky. So, when rescuers unfamiliar with the equipment quietly expressed concerns over the stability of the All Terrain Res-Q, Pratt and the Grapevine-Chavies ATV Rescue Team crew relied on their training, and safely delivered the injured worker, and fellow firefighter, to the WINGS MEDEVAC helicopter LZ. More to come... PERRY COUNTY, KENTUCKY
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All Terrain Res-Q™ ATV & OHV Rescue News: 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 or off the trails. 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, ATV 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 or UTV) 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 high visability yellow Junkin Safety basket stretcher has a double fully welded stainless steel frame which, if needed, can be equipped with a bridle sling and hoisted 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 by representatives of ///EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT, master distributor for All Terrain Res-Q. 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 Mountaineer 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." TYLER MOUNTAIN, WEST VIRGINIA . * * * . "NEW YORK's WILDERNESS SEARCH & RESCUE TEAM"
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This recently formed group, chartered in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is organized to support rescue services and enhance public safety by: A. Providing a forum for rescue squads and emergency response agencies to share information, training and resources in an organized manner. B. Promote the rescue service and rescue squads, and the services provided by rescue squads, including both search & rescue and technical rescue services. C. Educate public officials, policy makers, the media, public safety personnel, private organizations, and the general public about the roles, capabilities, and qualifications of rescue squads and rescue personnel, as well as about the needs and concerns of rescue squads and rescue personnel. D. Facilitate effective communication between rescue squads and rescue personnel to permit them to respond in a timely manner to matters of mutual interest or concern. E. Otherwise support the interest and activities of rescue squads and rescue personnel in any manner permitted under Kentucky law. (Reprinted from the K.A.I.R.S. handout.) For more information please visit K.A.I.R.S. online at: http://www.KAIRS.net Email K.A.I.R.S. at: postmaster@kairs.net
Meeting Location: "To be determined." Web page UPDATED July 1, 2008, 12:01 AM EDT.
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WILDERNESS SEARCH & RESCUE of NEW YORK STATE
Night is approaching........ and the temperature is dropping quickly. Alone in the woods, you have somehow become separated from your camping party. You've spent hours trying to find your way back.... now you are surely lost, as well as cold, tired, hungry and frightened. You sit beneath a large tree, gathering leaves, dirt and brush around you trying to keep warm. Your thirst is overwhelming. you wonder if you will live until morning. Darkness falls. Then without warning, you see a flicker of light, hear the crashing of branches and are suddenly descended upon by a large dog wearing an orange vest bearing the word "RESCUE" on each side. Her handler is not far behind bringing food, water, first aid and your survival. Wilderness Search and Rescue Team, also known as Wilderness Rescue was formed in 1979 to assist conservation and law enforcement agencies in searches for lost persons in the forest and wilderness areas of New York State. The WSAR team consists of two units: The Rescue Unit, and the K-9 Unit. This non-profit organization is made up of volunteers from Onondaga County who receive intense training to provide them with the necessary skills to be part of an organized search. For more information please visit WSAR at: Email Address: Telephone: 315-458-7514 Fax Line: 315-458 -3567 Postal Address: P.O. Box 215 603 North Main Street North Syracuse, New York 13212 . * * *
Be SAFE out there!
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