Tree into house Rescue

The statement below was posted on the Puget Sound Fire Facebook page. The event took place on the morning of February 23rd, 2020. This type of incident could happen anywhere at any time.  Pay close attention to the number of rescue units required to bring enough resources.

Units were dispatched with King County Medic One to an aid call for a tree that had fallen into a house and trapped the reporting party in the 22200 block of 196 Ave SE in unincorporated King County/Fire Dist. 43. First arriving crews found the patient trapped under a large tree that had fallen thru the middle of a six-unit two story apartment building. The tree was thru the second story and had pinned a man in his 60’s who had been sleeping on his couch in the living room. The patient was conscious and pinned across the torso area.

Due to the nature of the call and the complexity of the extrication a Zone 3 (South King County) rescue response was requested to bring specialized equipment and trained technicians to the incident. Seattle Fire Department was also requested to provide additional rescue resources.

The patient was treated in place while the tree and structure were stabilized. The patient was able to be extricated from underneath the tree and was transported by Medic One in critical but stable condition approx. one hour and 40 minutes after the initial dispatch.

Unique incidents like this require a large response to gather the resources necessary. Multiple agencies respond together to provide the best response to the community. In this incident a total of 14 units responded including Puget Sound Fire, South King Fire and Rescue, King County Fire Dis 2, Seattle Fire, King County Medic One, and Zone 3 fire rehab.

Shoring

Quick work shoring the home after a vehicle crashed into it.  Vehicles into a structure is a incident that can happen in every city.  The Lambertville FD was able to quickly deploy their Paratech Struts to shore up the home to prevent further damage. The fire service mission is life, safety, and property preservation.

Outside the box calls can happen anywhere at anytime. Here is a call that
Moneta Fire Department responded to that had a victim pinned by roof trusses while on scaffolding.

Per a comment on the Bedford County Special Operations Command – SOC Facebook page, “the load was captured by the Paratechs and did a controlled lift and once the load was cribbed and secure we cut away the ladder he was tangled in and removed him in a stoke basket that was awaiting transport. “

Here’s a few OSHA reports on truss collapses during construction:

• Investigation of the July 13, 2007 Collapse of Roof Trusses in Township of Franklin, NJ
• Investigation of the August 3, 2005 Collapse of Roof Trusses At Natatorio de, San Juan, PR