RESCUE REPORT

By Tom Vines

Driver Rescued from Van Teetering on Cliff’s Edge

Colorado rescuers were called to a strange—and precarious—motor vehicle accident on Jan. 21. A van was teetering on the edge of a cliff in the Colorado National Monument, and the victim needed to be extricated immediately.

The original 911 call from the vehicle driver, which came in at 1633 HRS, went to the Grand Junction Regional Communications Center, which relayed the information to a ranger at the Colorado National Monument, a National Park Service (NPS) unit in western Colorado, approximately 24 miles from the Utah state line.

The driver initially said he did not know where he was. The park’s two-way road snakes through desert canyon county of sandstone cliffs and Juniper trees for approximately 23 miles and rises about 2,000 feet above the Grand Valley. There are two major hills—one on the park’s east side and the other on the west side. Because no one knew the accident location, the park’s chief ranger covered the west side road, and another ranger searched for the accident on the east side. Then at 1643 HRS, dispatch provided an updated location: The vehicle was located at mile marker 18 on the east side.

At 1649 HRS, a ranger found the gray van off the road approximately 120 feet down from the fog line. The Glade Park Volunteer Fire Department (GPVFD) fire chief arrived on scene about the same time.

Apparently, the van had gone off the road, was airborne for 66 feet (there were no tire tracks in the snow for this distance), landed on a slope, bounced once or twice, rolled once and came to rest upright on a small pinnacle of rock. The van was teetering approximately 600 feet above the Red Canyon floor, with the rear wheels hanging above the void, and the driver was in the middle row of seats, where he had climbed after the crash.

Despite several inches of snow on the ground, the ranger and fire chief were able to scramble down to the van. There was barely a foot of working room around the van to do an assessment. As the GPVFD chief made a quick evaluation of the scene, the ranger questioned the driver, who appeared to be alert and oriented.

At 1714 HRS, the chief ranger arrived on scene. From its station about 4 miles away, the GPVFD dispatched Rescue 72 (Squad), Engine 72 and Brush 71. The Grand Junction Fire Department (GJFD), about 10 miles from the site, dispatched Engine 15, Rescue 11, Ambulance 11 (ALS) and Battalion 11. The park also requested mutual aid from Mesa Country Technical Rescue, a volunteer unit of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department.

To coordinate all the responding agencies, a Unified Command System was set up to include the NPS, Grand Junction Fire and the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.

Rescuers then needed to rig a safety line and stabilize the vehicle; unfortunately, the latter task proved to be a challenge. Because of the van’s position on the rock pinnacle, it was not possible to stabilize the vehicle on three of its sides. To stabilize the front, rescuers anchored a utility line to Juniper trees. Two firefighters then extended the line to the van, attached chains to the line and attached the chains to the vehicle’s front axle. Rescuers were limited as to how tight they could make the line. Due to the angle the line took over a rise in the terrain, if they tried to tension it, the front end of the vehicle would rise.

While one crew tended to the patient, another crew worked to rig a low-angle raising system to haul the patient up to the road. Using Juniper trees as anchors, the rigging team set up a 3:1 M.A (“Z-rig”) haul line using pulleys and tandem Prusiks, along with a separate belay line. The length for the haul maxed out their 200' static kernmantle ropes, but they were able to rig the system without having to pass knots.

Crews asked the driver to extricate himself through the driver-side window. They then placed him on a backboard in a wire basket litter several feet from the van. The haul was reset 10 times on the way up.

Grand Junction Fire Ambulance 11 transported the patient to a helicopter landing zone. From there, Saint Mary’s CareFlight, a Bell 412 EP, transported him to Saint Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction. Most units cleared the scene by 2022 HRS.

To remove the van from its perilous position, the park service hired a 240-ton crane from a towing service in Grand Junction. The recovery operation involved 27 people from local and federal agencies.

To safely rig for the lift, workers operated from a suspended platform. Unfortunately for taxpayers, the driver’s insurance carrier would not pay and the NPS had to foot the $12,000 bill. The total cost to the NPS for the response and salvage operation totaled $14,772.

Sources: Colorado National Monument Chief Ranger Phil Akers and GJFD Captain Corey Lovern provided information for this report.

LESSONS LEARNED/LESSONS REINFORCED:
When planning how to extricate the driver, firefighters initially considered using hydraulic extrication tools. However, there were multiple problems with this method. The 50' hydraulic line was not long enough to stretch from the fire units to the van. Plus, using portable units would have been both impracticable and dangerous. There simply wasn’t enough working space on the rock holding the vehicle. Extrication efforts would likely cause the vehicle to teeter.

Additionally, the van’s position made it impossible for rescuers to use the common extrication technique of spinal immobilization and removal on a backboard. That method would create risks for both the rescuers and patient. Fortunately, the driver had essentially “cleared” his spine by voluntarily moving around inside the vehicle without incurring disability or spine pain. The driver had not lost consciousness and was not intoxicated—facts that further indicated that his spine was not compromised.

This was a new experience for all the responders: a vehicle stuck on a pinnacle of rock with high-angle exposure on three sides. It also involved some significant hazards to the responders. It meant using their training, experience and skills to assess the situation, plan and then reassess before taking action.

One major issue was that some of the responding agencies had never worked together before, so they were not acquainted with the other departments’ procedures and did not have communications compatibility. Unified command helped in this regard. For example, a sheriff’s deputy was standing next to the battalion chief at the command post, so commands could easily be relayed and communications correctly interpreted. This worked well, and despite the number of different agencies involved, the operation was conducted effectively and efficiently.

Calls to parkland areas are often different and challenging, particularly where rugged terrain is involved. Departments that might be called to such areas should preplan and conduct training exercise in such areas.

Rescue Editor Tom Vines is the co-author of “High Angle Rescue Techniques” and “Confined Space and Structural Rope Rescue.” He operates a rope-rescue consulting group in Red Lodge, Mont.