Meadows Rescue by Engine 60
THE NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE
Engine 60, under the command of Captain Kenny Brady, responded to the heavily damaged Northridge Meadows Apartments as part of the additional resources requested by Battalion Chief Robert De Feo. Firefighter/Paramedic Corey Rose was detailed that day to Engine 60; his paramedic experience was about to be put to good use.
Thirty-eight-year-old Allen Hemsath, a resident of Apartment 1 10 on the ground floor, was trapped in his collapsed kitchen. All of his extremities were pinned by structural members and debris.
Firefighters found Hemsath during the initial search. A tenant reported hearing a voice from the second floor. Firefighters directed their search in this area. One Firefighter called out while the others listened for the victim’s voice.
The rescuers thought they heard the victim below the second-floor bedroom, which was full of debris that had to be removed by hand. Rescuers tried to gain vertical access to the victim. They began cutting through the lightweight concrete floor with a rotary saw, but they soon discontinued its use because it created too much dust, making it unsafe for the rescuers in the small space. They then used a pickhead axe to breach the concrete. Floor sheathing and plywood were removed with a chain saw. All building materials removed were passed out the window to ensure a safe working area.
The breached floor led to a 12to 18-inch void space. The rescuers now could hear the victim more clearly. They determined that the victim was under the dining room/ kitchen area of the second-floor apartment. A second vertical access hole was made in the kitchen. Hemsath was trapped four to five feet below.
The victim was prone and covered with much debris. Firefighters cleared the areas around his head first, to remove airway obstruction. The floor joists, however, made access to the victim very difficult.
ALL LIMBS WERE TRAPPED
All of the victim’s limbs were trapped. A piece of conduit was stretched across his back. His right arm was pinned beneath him, his hand below the right side of his chest. Pipes and a 4 x 4 pinned his right leg. His left shoulder and arm were pinned underneath an electrical panel attached to a 4×4. His left thigh was pinned by a microwave oven, and his left lower leg and foot were pinned by a 4 x 4, on top of which a refrigerator had fallen. Weight from sections of the upper floors compounded the situation.
In light of the potential for serious injury, including crush syndrome injuries, the rescuers decided to free one limb at a time and to assess the victim continuously. Rescuers attempted to cut through one of the joists with a chain saw to establish a larger working area. The joist began to crack and bow upward. Members reviewed the situation and determined that the joists were under such compression that any further cutting would have put the patient and the rescuers in great danger from a secondary collapse.
The conduit stretched across the victim’s back was cut with a hacksaw. Removing the conduit enabled firefighters to free the victim’s right arm and made it possible for Rose to start an IV. However, the paramedic ambulances were staged on the street. Firefighters had to make their way a considerable distance through the rubble out to the street to pick up the needed medical supplies.
Using a hand saw, rescuers cut the 4 x 4 pinning the victim’s right leg. Next, a hole was breached in the wall to give rescuers a larger working area and to make it possible to remove some of the kitchen items. The hole also enabled firefighters to use the room next door to access equipment and cribbing materials and provided a clear path for debris removal.
The rescuers now moved to the left side of the victim’s body. To extricate his left arm, they used a hand saw to cut the 4 x 4 and wire cutters to cut the metal strap holding the electrical panel attached to the 4×4. Using a crowbar for leverage, rescuers lifted a portion of the 4×4. The medical supplies arrived, and Rose established an IV of normal saline in the patient’s right arm. He stayed with the victim throughout the operation, monitoring vitals and looking for signs of crush syndrome.
The victim was doing extremely well during the extrication. He was alert and oriented and able to tell where he had pain. However, the tight space and debris pressing against his right anterior chest made breathing difficult.
Extricating the victim’s left leg was the toughest part of the operation. Rescuers were able to cut and pull debris to free the microwave on his left thigh. At this point, the victim was becoming very tired. Time was becoming a critical factor. It was decided to use a chain saw to cut the 4 x 4 trapping his left leg and foot. The chain saw was started outside the work area for safety. The chain brake was put on and passed in to a firefighter working in the hole, who cut the 4 x 4 to within one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch of the victim’s leg. The 4×4 was then snapped away by hand. A two-ton air bag and cribbing were used to lift the refrigerator from the victim’s left foot. This maneuver was extremely difficult because of the confined space and the weight being exerted on the refrigerator by a joist under the second and third floors. The victim’s left leg and foot were then freed.
Rose applied a cervical collar, and the victim was removed from between the joists. He was placed on a backboard and then in a litter basket and removed from the structure, reexamined, and transported to the hospital.
The rescue operation took four-and-a-half hours, during which time rescuers were subjected to numerous aftershocks-creating a very stressful environment.
After a long hospital stay and many surgeries, the prognosis for the victim’s recovery is good. He sustained minor neuro/muscular deficits and is undergoing physical therapy live times a week.
The successful conclusion of this rescue is attributable to the following factors: the rescuers’ determination, the victim’s will to live, the rescuers’ teamwork, and the rescuers’ EMS skills.
