WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — First responders were dispatched to the 5600 block of Mission Road about 2:50pm on Sunday, April 7th, due to a report of a driver impaled in a vehicle.
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Deb Slater told Whatcom News that deputies arrived to find the driver inside the vehicle and impaled in the groin area by a portion of a gate used to close access to the road.
Fire/rescue personnel from Whatcom County Fire District 1, North Whatcom Fire & Rescue and Bellingham Fire Department also responded and extricated the driver from the vehicle after about an hour and transported to PeaceHealth St Joseph Medical Center via a medic unit.
This call required extensive technical rescue to safely free the patient and get them to definitive care. We relied on the vehicle construction knowledge and extrication training of our WCFD#1 crew, NWFR’s crew, and the crews from BFD. We are grateful for the partnership with our ALS resources and the tech rescue teams. Ladder 5 was added to the call for additional personnel and equipment. Equipment used included extrication cutters, reciprocating saws, bolt cutters, wire cutters, grinders, and leverage bars. WCFD1 Fire Chief Rachel Carlson (April 8, 2024)
According to the PulsePoint EMS dispatch log service, a ladder truck from Bellingham Fire Department was dispatched sometime after the initial dispatch to assist during the extrication.
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