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Arizona Firefighters Work 2-Hour Extrication on Truck Driver
LARRY TUNFORSS
Bullhead City Fire Department
Early Tuesday morning at 2:16 a.m., Bullhead City Fire Department responded to a reported Semi truck collision at mile post ten on Hwy 68.
Rescue 31 arrived to find a semi truck tractor and trailer which had collided with the rear of another semi truck tractor and trailer. Both were west bound on Hwy 68.
Impact was significant and intrusion into the driver’s compartment by heavy I-beams came within inches of the driver. Fire crews worked tirelessly for two hours and ten minutes to extricate the driver from his cab. Crews used every tool available from air bags, cribbing, jacks, jaws of life, and even a heavy duty commercial tow truck from Kingman to lift the I-beam load and unpin the trapped but conscious driver.
A CareFlight helicopter was called to the scene and its crew assisted fire medics in stabilizing the driver during the extrication. Once extricated, the driver was flown to a trauma center in Las Vegas where his condition was unknown at press time. Fortunately, the loads on the involved trailers were produce and heavy steel I-beams, and did not pose a hazardous threat.
DPS and ADOT shut down Hwy 68 during the incident for the safety of crews working to free the driver and then dislodge the two tractor trailers. Hwy 68 was then reopened.
Bullhead City Fire Department
Early Tuesday morning at 2:16 a.m., Bullhead City Fire Department responded to a reported Semi truck collision at mile post ten on Hwy 68.
Impact was significant and intrusion into the driver’s compartment by heavy I-beams came within inches of the driver. Fire crews worked tirelessly for two hours and ten minutes to extricate the driver from his cab. Crews used every tool available from air bags, cribbing, jacks, jaws of life, and even a heavy duty commercial tow truck from Kingman to lift the I-beam load and unpin the trapped but conscious driver.
A CareFlight helicopter was called to the scene and its crew assisted fire medics in stabilizing the driver during the extrication. Once extricated, the driver was flown to a trauma center in Las Vegas where his condition was unknown at press time. Fortunately, the loads on the involved trailers were produce and heavy steel I-beams, and did not pose a hazardous threat.
DPS and ADOT shut down Hwy 68 during the incident for the safety of crews working to free the driver and then dislodge the two tractor trailers. Hwy 68 was then reopened.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on
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Thats one you dont see everyday! Good job boys/gals!
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Permalink Reply by Peter Putnam on
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outstanding job people
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Permalink Reply by Shareef Abdu Nur on
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Great Job by all who were involved! All to often events like this and departments like this go un noticed. This took discipline, training, and execution. Again, GREAT JOB!
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Just curious - did anyone think about cutting away the sheet metal around the I-beam, then simply driving the truck carrying the I-beam away from the patient? If the situation permitted it, that could have saved minutes or even hours on the extrication time.
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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Good point. I think many forget the options of moving cars, trucks, etc.
I've winched cars off trees to quicke nthe extrication. Have even considered with a live casulty in the car. It's an option.
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Absolutely- we shoudl all have the same training and licenses. No quesiton about it. If anything, we should have more given that we are driving in more adverse conditions, speeds, etc
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I disagree...
CDLs are designed for over-the-road truckers engaged in interstate commerce. There is growing concern that due to the federal CDL driver crew rest mandates, that you might not be able to chauffer a rig for a 24-hour shift...since the CDL rules specifiy no more than 16 hours without crew rest, regardless of whether or not you actually drive the rig the entire time.
What we actually need is a driver's license specialized for what we actually drive, not Peterbuilt tractor-trailers. I can't remember the last time I backed a pumper up to a loading dock to load pallets of hose into the hose bed with a forklift.
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Luke, I've only done this three times in my career, and as a "last resort" all three times, but I have intentionally moved vehicles containing trapped patients in order to complete the extrication.
Two were cars wrapped "horseshoe style" around a power pole and a tree, respectively, and the third was a car in a tractor-trailer underride. We applied c-collars and did the best manual immobilization we could, and used slow, short pulls with a rescue vehicle-mounted winch to move the car with the entrapment.
As long as you keep the winch pull under control, it's doable. Once again, it's a last resort.
In the photo above, I'd get a second heavy rescue to the scene and have them work on cutting away the vehicle parts impinging on the beam end while Rescue Company 1 continues working the problem right around the driver. If Rescue 2 gets the beam end free, that thing is being driven away...in a controlled manner, of course.
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Permalink Reply by chris r brannon on
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all i can say is that whether it may a volunteer dept or paid on call the time and effort on this extrication was unbeliveable and had great communciation skills
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