McKinney, TX, Technical Rescue Team Says Training Paid Off at Overpass Incident

McKinney's technical rescue team's skills were put to the test during what they say was a once-in-a-career call.

The original dispatch seemed rather routine -- an overturned semi and several other vehicles involved.

“Once we got closer to the scene, it was obvious that a wrecker had turned over and hit the side and was partially hanging over Hardin Boulevard,” Battalion Chief Jonathan Duncan told WFAA. 

Though in a very precarious position, Martin Briones-Vazquez waited patiently inside his cab. He was praised for staying calm as the operation unfolded.

“For something like that, you really have to take a second to slow everything down. If you start working too fast and start missing steps, it builds that anxiety. So it’s really just slowing everything down, thinking through the problem,” Firefighter Paramedic Jordan Goode said.

Engineer Paramedic Taylor Krais was the rescue group supervisor. “Just coordinating these guys on the tips of the ladder, the plan to get the patient secured and lowered down to the ladder, working with our safety officer. We came up with a plan and executed it.”

Coordination and relying on their training were key as the team proceeded.

Firefighter Paramedic Dalton Bentley said: “It was hard to communicate with him through the glass. I was able to get some head shakes from him, ask if he was injured, but Jordan was able to talk to him from the top.”

Bentley's movements were being directed by Firefighter Paramedic Chase Inman from the base of the ladder. “He’s on the tip of my ladder. So I’m making sure to coordinate with him, getting him in the right position."

From both ladders — one above, one below — the technicians told the driver how to put the cinch collar on. 

Bentley and Inman helped guide him onto the ladder below, and walked with him to the ambulance to be checked out.

“It was a feeling of relief,” Bentley said.

The hours of training in controlled environments paid off big time Wednesday.

Duncan added: “These guys in their technical rescue training — they train every day. What they did out there, they’ve done hundreds of times in training. That’s why it went off without a hitch.”