On Fire ❘ by Michael N. Ciampo
Our friends in blue often call us to assist them at incidents where they might need our help, expertise, equipment, or apparatus. In some situations, we will be operating side by side with them or they’ll be watching us perform some tactic to help alleviate a problem. The calls to assist the police can be for something relatively simple or ones where we might have to take a step back and worry about our members’ safety first before we offer our assistance.
Responding to our second jumper of the day had a few of us shaking our heads; why today? The first was off a very high bridge and into the river where we’ve grown quite accustomed to responding. If you have a bridge like this and you have a few years on the job, you’ll start noticing that during the holiday season these incidents may occur more often than other times of the year. More often than not, the fire department land units stand fast along the shores of the river, awaiting the victim’s recovery by the fireboat, and then perform first aid during the transition from the boat to the ambulance. Unfortunately, at this location, we haven’t had many successful rescues, but occasionally they do happen.
Our response on this run was for a high-rise multiple dwelling with the additional information on the run ticket of “jumper down.” Pulling into the block was a little chaotic, with a few ambulances already on scene, multiple marked and unmarked police cars, and the engine company. Trying to get a visual size-up was a bit tough because of all the commotion going on out front. Luckily, the engine gave us the scoop on what happened and what the police were requesting our help for. An undercover cop came over to us with more information and helped us with our size-up. The victim was trying to flee from being taken into custody, so he jumped from about four floors up and landed on the front overhang. He was lying on his back, halfway sitting up, complaining of a lot of pain in his legs. Our plan of action was to get the rig into position and raise the tower ladder bucket to the victim to complete the removal. It would be much easier and quicker than raising a portable ladder, rigging a rope system, securing the patient with diamond lashing into the stokes basket, and lowering him.
As a few members positioned the apparatus between trees, telephone poles carrying high-voltage wires, and a street sign, others were ready to set up the rig and place the safety pins in the outriggers and jacks. Meanwhile, two other members threw a portable ladder to the opposite side of the front overhang.
We asked the police that prior to our arrival onto the overhang, they first get to the victim to ensure he wasn’t carrying any type of weapon. The last thing any officer needs is two unsuspecting firefighters reaching the victim first and being taken hostage by an armed victim faking some injuries. The police used our portable ladder and approached the subject first and ensured our safety.
The chauffeur positioned the bucket with its floor just above the balcony so the members could make an easy transition onto the overhang. Plus, it was placed at the opposite end from where the victim was so the stokes basket and other equipment could be removed without striking the portable ladder or the victim.
Since these firefighters were the first to reach the victim, they performed a patient assessment. The victim had severe leg injuries and was bleeding from a compound fracture. Once the initial assessment was complete, the police felt the need to cuff the victim, which was okay with us.
As first aid was administered, the bucket was being lowered so the top railing of the bucket would line up with the top of the overhang. Doing this would enable us to slide the stokes basket across the top rails of the bucket and keep it horizontal while removing the victim. (Many tower ladders have brackets that can attach to the front or side of the bucket for holding the stokes basket; these brackets aren’t normally attached to the bucket.)
Once we secured the victim into the stokes basket with the seat belt straps, we lifted and slid him onto the bucket, where we secured him. Now that the victim was ready to be removed from the overhang, the chauffeur operated the controls for steady and fluid movements. This is important to note; it also allows the members in the bucket to continue performing first aid during the removal without worrying about flying the bucket.
Another aerial operational safety point to remember is that we don’t use the apparatus as a crane to lift a victim from a hole. The power of the hydraulics could cause a severe injury to the victim if he got hung up on something during the lift.
As the bucket retracted, a firefighter was positioned on each side of the boom to ensure no one would walk in its way or be hit when it was lowered. One of these firefighters communicated verbally with the chauffeur as he retracted away from and in between fence railings. When the bucket was clear of any obstruction, one firefighter gave the chauffeur hand signals on lowering the bucket to the ground. It’s important to note that the line of sight of this operation should be on the same side of the boom as the operator is positioned on the turntable. This permits full visibility and communication.
Once at sidewalk level, the transition from stokes to stretcher went smoothly, and the patient went into the ambulance with a police chaperone.
MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 32-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladders and Ventilation chapters for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and the Bread and Butter Portable Ladders DVD and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos on www.FireEngineering.com.
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