It was a cold morning with temperatures in the 30s. The light precipitation was a prelude to the forecast of significant snow for Prince George’s County, MD. The northwesterly winds were stirring at 10 mph, causing the temperature to feel even colder. At 9:21 A.M. on Dec. 5, 2005, Engine 271 from Morningside Fire/EMS Station 27 and Ambulance 238 from Forestville Fire/EMS Station 23 were dispatched to the 4700 block of Allentown Road for a sick person.
Prince George’s County is a large metropolitan area that borders the District of Columbia on its eastern boundary and has a population of more than 830,000. The Capital Beltway, Interstate 95/495, which encompasses the District of Columbia and provides a major road network for the Washington metropolitan area, traverses the county. Prince George’s County is the home to FedEx Field, home of the NFL Washington Redskins; the University of Maryland at College Park; Bowie BaySox, Class AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles; the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt; and, Andrews Air Force Base, home of Air Force One.
The Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department, under the leadership of Fire Chief Lawrence H. Sedgwick Jr., is one of the largest and busiest combination career and volunteer systems in the nation, consisting of 44 fire-rescue facilities. Annually, there are in excess of 130,000 calls for assistance placed by the county’s citizens and residents. Seventy percent of the calls are requests for emergency medical services.
This particular location, the 4700 block of Allentown Road, is also the main gate to Andrews Air Force Base. Engine 271 arrived to learn of an incapacitated adult male atop the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) water tower, approximately 200 feet above the ground. The crew from Engine 271 used the semi-enclosed safety ladder man-way that was attached to the water tower to ascend the 200 feet to reach the patient and initiate basic life support (BLS) care. The water tower is located on Andrews Air Force Base, which prompted their fire department and military security to also respond. Incident commanders were notified that Air Force One was being readied for departure at some point that morning.
After reaching the patient on the water tower’s catwalk, the crew quickly determined the patient was suffering from hypoglycemia and hypothermia. The man, an employee of WSSC, was one of a team of workers who had been dispatched to change a navigational light atop the water tower. The patient was the first to ascend the tower and upon reaching the catwalk, became unconscious and lost communication with his co-workers. When the others reached the top of the tower they discovered that the man was incapacitated and immediately notified 911.
Public Safety Communications, in addition to the Technical Rescue Team, dispatched a High-Angle Assignment. Auxiliary resources included Paramedic 20, EMS Supervisor 14, Tower 18 (Glen Dale Fire/EMS Station 18), Andrews Air Force Base Engine-Squad-Tower and several command officers.
The department’s Technical Rescue Team is based at Tuxedo-Cheverly Fire/EMS Station 22. The team is trained in the areas of high-angle, collapse, confined space, swift-water, ice, wilderness search/rescue and vehicle/machinery rescue.
Paramedic 20 from Upper Marlboro and an EMS supervisor arrived on the scene. After being briefed by Engine 271 via the department radio, paramedics climbed the water tower’s man-way. Upon reaching the patient, they initiated advanced life support (ALS) measures. Medical equipment and rescue tools were hoisted from the ground up to the catwalk.
Because of his altered level of consciousness, the patient was incapable of descending the man-way safety ladder on his own. Members of the Technical Rescue Team assessed the scene and began preparing for a “horizontal-lower†over the edge of catwalk. Two systems were constructed for the patient lower – one for the patient and one for the firefighter being lowered with the basket. Each system consisted of a main line for lowering and a belay line for safety. Four anchor points were established for each system. Two anchor points on the spire of the tower to gain a height advantage and reduce the angle over the edge, and two on the catwalk for the belay systems. Two bar racks were used to lower and two tandem prusik belay systems were established. Pulleys were used to directionalize the systems over the semi-enclosed safety ladder.
Meanwhile, paramedics continued to administer ALS intervention, and the patient began showing signs of improvement. Team members opted for a safer, more efficient “vertical-lower†using the man-way. Another consideration leading to the decision to use the man-way was the amount of electronic cables and equipment located around the handrail of the catwalk. Unaware of the cost of damaging it or the disruption that may result if it were damaged, it was determined that those areas would be avoided. Instead, the semi-enclosed man-way ladder shaft would be used, as it was obstruction free and large enough to lower a stokes basket through.
With the anchor and pulley systems established and ready to be deployed, the patient was loaded and secured into a stokes basket. A firefighter began the initial descent, sustaining a position below the basket to assist and maintain control. The Technical Rescue Team simultaneously and slowly released the line and the unhurried descent of the firefighter and patient took about 15 minutes. Once on the ground, the patient was loaded and transported to an area hospital for treatment of his illness. Despite adverse weather conditions and the height from which the rescue was conducted, the operation was completed in one hour and 45 minutes.
Mark E. Brady is public information officer for the Prince George’s County, MD, Fire/EMS Department.
