DATE OF INCIDENT: 12/31/2009
INCIDENT TYPE: Special Rescue
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 29th Avenue and High Drive
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99223
NARRATIVE: At 5:16 PM on Thursday, December 31st the Spokane Fire Department was dispatched to the area of 29th Avenue and High Drive for a reported vehicle over the embankment. Multiple calls were received at Fire Dispatch concerning this incident. Initial information was that there were two victims that had been ejected and two other victims still trapped in the vehicle. Due to the nature and location of the incident, multiple SFD resources responded, including 4 engines, 2 ladders, 1 heavy rescue and two Battalion Chiefs. Three AMR ambulances were dispatched. Among those responding were SFD technical rescue and vehicle extrication specialists.
First arriving SFD resources reported a vehicle had gone over the embankment and firefighters were attempting to get down the hillside to locate any victims and determine the extent of their injuries. The fire crews, working in the wet, slippery, and dangerous conditions on this very steep area of High Drive, carefully made their way down to the vehicle. While working their way down the embankment, crews located two victims who apparently climbed out of the vehicle after it came to a stop, and were working their way up the slope to summon help. These victims; a 16 year old female and a 17 year old male received minor injuries and were treated by paramedics at the scene before being transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center by private vehicle.
While the first two victims were being assisted, other fire crews made their way down to the vehicle; a mid-size SUV that had come to rest on its passenger side, approximately 1200 feet down the embankment. Two adult victims; a male and a female, were found trapped in the heavily damaged vehicle. The female was removed through a window of the SUV and treated by paramedics for non-life threatening injuries. Extrication was required to remove the male from the vehicle, and he too was treated for non-life threatening injuries. Both adult victims were carried on litters up the steep, slippery embankment by firefighters and transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center. Their condition is unknown at the time of this release.
This was an extremely difficult and treacherous rescue. Nearly one half of the on-duty Spokane Fire Department crews operated at this incident for over three hours. One firefighter was injured during the rescue, suffering a back injury after slipping on the compacted snow on the way back up the hillside. He was released from duty after return to the station.
The initial cause of the crash is under investigation by the Spokane Police Department. Road conditions were slick at the time of the incident and may have contributed to the crash.
PROBABLE CAUSE: Under investigation.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Vehicle totalled.
DOLLAR LOSS:
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 25
MUTUAL AID: None Given
For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com
END OF RELEASE
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