15/08/2023
We all know that Jonesboro Fire and Rescue responds to more than burning buildings. But sometimes the challenge that awaits can take even an experienced firefighter by surprise.
Quite a bit of fast-thinking and ingenuity was required recently by the Engine 7 team to rescue a man trapped in the deathly fumes of an oil tank car at Trinity Rail.
Jonesboro E-911 received a call the evening of Aug. 4 about the trapped worker, and the third-party contractor was in dire need of help because the fumes of a mixture of gases made entering the car a situation that firefighters call IDLH – Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health.
Even when Engine 7 arrived at the scene, it was quickly apparent that HAZMAT and confined-space rescue teams would be needed, because the man was lying unconscious and barely breathing in a lethal mix of flammable oxygen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide.
Waiting for these specialty teams to arrive, firefighters recognized the man was barely taking in two breaths per minute, each of those delivering air but also more toxins to his lungs.
It occurred to one of the team members that the leaf blower that firetrucks carry might be of use.
Normally, the blowers can clear sightlines in a kitchen with a grease fire or clear a path in a situation where firefighters need to move smoke back to its source.
But this was a unique moment that required fast action. And fresh air.
“Once they put the leaf blower into the railcar, they continued to check the air with the four-gas monitor and saw the atmosphere was changing and the oxygen level was arriving,” Fire Chief Marty Hamrick said. “They were also able to monitor the individual and saw he was becoming responsive.”
The team at Trinity had set up a tripod atop the railcar, and once a rope was lowered to the man, with some coaching he was able to harness himself into a rescue device. He climbed out before being taken to the hospital. All within about 45 minutes.
“Our HAZMAT crews cleaned the product off him, and he was on his way to the hospital,” Hamrick said.
Mayor Harold Copenhaver called it one of just another example of how many-faceted the work of fire and rescue can be.
“I am extremely proud of our team,” he said. “And this is just another example of them using fast thinking and the tools around them to get the job done.”
