CHARLES BAILEY
Firehouse.Com News
Red Bank, Tennessee firefighters faced a tough rescue situation early
this morning after severe weather sent a large tree crashing into the
middle of a single-story apartment building trapping two occupants.
A four-year-old girl, whose mother was also trapped
by the tree, was killed.
The tree cut through the building pinning the mother to the floor by her arm
and pinning her child as well.
The Red Bank Fire Department, alerted to the incident via a 911 call,
responded with seven pieces of equipment including four engines and two
light-rescue trucks, and a total of 19 firefighters to the scene.
First arriving firefighters, immediately requested mutual aid from
neighboring departments,
including a confined-space team from the TriCom Fire Department and a
collapse-rescue team from Hamilton County Rescue.
Units used hydraulic rams, with box-cribbing, to lift the tree high,
cribbing as they lifted enough to remove the victims to safety. It took
about
two hours to complete the operation. They also used a private tree service
to help trim the tree down.
When asked if his department was overwhelmed by the
incident, Red Bank firefighter Brett Whitlock replied, "We have all kinds of
rescues and we have some pretty seasoned firefighters, we were not
overwhelmed."
Despite the efforts of firefighters the young girl died at the hospital. Her
mother remains hospitalized in stable condition. According to Deputy Chief
Jimmy Burnette, all 19 members of the department and eight police officers
who were there will receive critical incident stress debriefing.
No other injuries were reported from this storm that brought thunder,
lightning and winds ranging from 45-60 mph. Multiple downed power lines were
reported.
The Red Bank Fire Department is a 2 station, 45 member combination
department serving a population of about 15,000 in a 12 square mile
residential area, near Chattanooga in the southeast portion of the state.
