By Kathi Downing
Columnist | Posted: Thursday, October 19, 2006 12:00 am
Rural rescue had suspense, courage
BLODGETT - A daring rescue executed by the Blodgett-Summit Rural Fire Department last February was straight out of an adventure novel, complete with suspense, quick decisions by emergency crews, helicopter support from the Coast Guard and a satisfying ending.
It also earned a coveted Unit Citation Award for the fire department at the Sept. 22 Oregon Emergency Medical Services Conference in Portland, as well as special ribbons for three members of the team: EMT Bertie Stringer, EMT Karen Black and first responder Marsh Dunham.
At about 12:30 p.m. Feb. 17, the Blodgett-Summit Fire Department was summoned to a logging accident, about three miles up Norton Creek in Blodgett, where loggers had been falling trees in the bottom of a steep ravine. Information was that a logger had been hit by a tree.
Stringer and her husband, Dunham, drove a rescue utility vehicle from the Summit station to meet crew foreman Jay Mulberry at Norton Creek. He had climbed up from the accident site and driven to summon help, while Josh Russell, the other cutting partner, remained to give first aid and calm the patient until emergency support arrived.
After navigating and flagging the logging road, Stringer, Dunham and Mulberry stumbled down the ravine tangled with thick undergrowth and freshly felled trees, marking their trail while hauling emergency equipment to the scene. When they arrived, they found Don Hendricks of Wren on his side, bleeding from a severe head wound.
It quickly became apparent that the fastest way to get him out of there was by rope rescue. After stabilizing the patient, they had to figure out how to get him to a site where the Coast Guard helicopter could pick him up.
Meanwhile, Karen Black had guided rescuers from the Corvallis Fire Department to the scene to help keep the patient stable and extract him from the area.
Nothing was easy. Radio communication from the bottom of the ravine was sketchy, and after repeated attempts, the Coast Guard helicopter was unable to pick up the patient because of the difficult terrain. Mulberry was busy blazing a trail with his chain saw, in case Hendricks needed to be carried all the way out.
After the patient had been secured to a backboard, placed into a Stokes basket and agonizingly maneuvered through a treacherous thicket, he was transferred onto Mulberry's truck and finally to the Corvallis ambulance. Whew!
Then the ambulance, which was not built for narrow, rough logging roads, got stuck, and the Blodgett-Summit Fire vehicle had to be backed in and the patient transferred yet again.
After four grueling, nerve-wracking hours and heroic efforts on the part of Mulberry, Russell and all the emergency workers, Hendricks was loaded onto the Life Flight helicopter and flown to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in a matter of five minutes.
Because of the severity of his injuries, it took a while for Hendricks to recover. He is now well on his way and hopes to return to logging soon. He is a lucky man. And this is a lucky community to have such competent, courageous and quick-thinking emergency volunteers on the job.
Thanks and congratulations to Stringer, Marsh and Black. Clearly they, along with the Corvallis teams that backed them up, deserved their ribbons and the Unit Citation Award, which is presented annually by the state health department for "acts of organizations, units or specially constituted teams in providing emergency pre-hospital care or EMS system support activities under extreme circumstances."
Halloween party
On Oct. 28, the Summit Grange will stage its annual Halloween party and dance. There will be prizes in a variety of categories for kids' and adults' costumes, as well as plenty of homemade goodies and lots of fun.
The 7 p.m. kids' party will be followed by a dance band. Well-known for their hot blues, guitar licks and foot-stomping favorites, Michael Riley and the Summit Underground will start playing at 8 p.m. and keep the crowd dancing well into the night.
Admission to the dance is $5 for adults and $1 per child. All proceeds from the dance will benefit the Summit Grange Hall renovations and projects. The grange is an alcohol-free venue.
This year, party-goers also are asked to help Coast Range Food Share by donating a can(s) of food, peanut butter or non-perishables at the door.
Helping seniors day
Blodgett and Summit senior citizens might take note of the upcoming Seniors Helping Seniors Day, sponsored by Philomath High School. Members of the Class of 2007 (PHS seniors) are willing to do yard work and other jobs for seniors (65 years and older) on Oct 28.
Local seniors who have jobs to be done should be contact Mike Crocker at 929-3211 or contact their local PHS senior.
Nashville resident Kathi Downing can be contacted at ramdown@peak.org or 456-4252.