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| Sergeant
Bill Rehkopf with the off-roading rescue vehicle. |
Fire
Department's All-Terrain Vehicle Used for First Time
September 22, 2007
According to a press release from the Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Department:
The
Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Department's new all-terrain
rescue vehicle was put to use for the first time Sunday September
22 when a woman on horseback became ill along the CSX railroad
tracks in southern Carroll County.
The
call for ATV 12 was dispatched shortly after 10 am, along with
Sykesville's paramedic unit and rescue squad. A woman, in her
30's, who had fallen off a horse on Saturday had ridden out again
Sunday morning, but became ill along a remote stretch of the railroad
tracks somewhere between Marriottsville Road and Route 32, a five
mile distance inaccessible by ambulances or fire trucks.
As
the ATV unit was being unloaded, crews quickly began a search
of the railroad tracks on foot. The woman was located a short
time later along the railway, near the old Henryton State Hospital
grounds, about halfway between Marriottsville Road and Route 32.
The
ATV unit made its way to the scene, accompanied by EMS personnel
and firefighters. The woman was quickly assessed, stabilized,
and placed in a "stokes" stretcher, which was secured
to the ATV unit. The woman was then brought up out of the railroad
and to a waiting ambulance. There was a short trip to a waiting
Maryland State Police medevac helicopter, and the woman was flown
to Shock Trauma in Baltimore.
The
incident marks the first time the ATV unit was used since being
placed in service on September 1. The unit is the first of its
kind in Carroll County, and is one of only a handful in Central
Maryland specially equipped for all-terrain rescue. The unit was
bought with funds secured in a federal Assistance to Firefighter's
grant.
The
woman's name and condition are not being released at this time.
Related
Links:
- Profile
of Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Department
- More
pictures and information about the All-Terrain Vehicle Used for
First Time
- Get a closer look at the Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department: Photo Gallery