MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT WITH ENTRAPMENT

921 Lower Ferry Road,
Ewing Township

On the afternoon of Thursday, December 11, 2003, volunteers from Lawrence Road Fire Co. responded mutual aid into Ewing Township to help out at a motor vehicle accident in the area of 921 Lower Ferry Road.

At 2:53 p.m. Box 33-10 was transmitted by Mercer County Central Communications Center and all three Ewing fire companies toned out to the accident, which involved an overturned car with confirmed entrapment.

At that time, West Trenton, Pennington Road, and Prospect Heights firefighters were already responding to another call for a possible structure fire involving a smoke condition in a condominium on Silvia Street.

Because Ewing’s first-due apparatus was committed to the possible fire, Mercer County Central was instructed to dispatch a mutual aid rescue and engine to the scene.

At 2:55 p.m., a request was made to Bucks County (Pa.) Fire Radio for Rescue 0 from Yardley-Makefield Fire Co. to be toned out. At 2:56 p.m., Engine 22 from Lawrence Road was dispatched by Mercer County Central.

At 2:57 p.m., Rescue 22 responded with Capt. Chris Pangaldi in command, Safety Officer James Yates driving, and a crew of Lt. Shaun Dlabik, Lt. Michael Ratcliffe, Lt. Michael Byrd, and Ff. Martin Burch.

(Rescue 22 responded in place of Engine 22 because the Lawrence Road members thought it best to take the rescue pumper in case additional rescue equipment was needed at the scene.)

Chief John Fleming also responded in Car 22, but his times were not logged.

After Ewing firefighters determined that there was no structure fire on Silvia Street, Rescue 33, Engine 32, and Squirt 31 were redirected to the accident.

Squirt 31 arrived on location at 3:01 p.m., followed by Engine 32 at 3:02 p.m. and Rescue 33 at 3:03 p.m.

Ewing firefighters found the vehicle resting on its passenger’s side, with the driver, a woman, trapped inside. An ambulance crew from Ewing Emergency Medical Service was already on scene trying to calm the injured and distraught woman as several police officers and civilians tried to stabilize the car by holding it.

Rescue 22 arrived on location at 3:06 p.m.

By that time Ewing firefighters had already partially stabilized the car on one side with cribbing and were working with EMS personnel to remove the woman, who was very combative with rescuers.

Rescue 22’s crew was ordered by Pennington Road Chief Paul Rulkiewicz, who was serving as the incident commander, to finish stabilizing the car. Lawrence Road members used additional cribbing from Rescue 22 and two high-lift jacks, one on each side, to immobilize the vehicle.

The extrication was completed by 3:12 p.m. After the injured woman was secured to a stretcher, members of Rescue 22’s crew helped EMS personnel place her in a waiting ambulance.

The woman was then transported to the trauma unit at Capital Health System at Fuld hospital in Trenton.

(Rescue 0 from Yardley-Makefield was recalled prior to arriving on location.)

After collecting all their equipment, Rescue 22’s crew went available from the scene at 3:26 p.m. and returned to quarters at Station 22 by 3:40 p.m.