Tincanfireman
Airfield Operations
- 1,054
- 1
- 0
Got toned out this morning for a 2 vehicle 10-50 (MVA) near the station. EMS and PD were already on scene and reporting minor injuries. It sounded like everything was going well over the radio, but then we started hearing things like "rollover", "entrapment", etc. We were already headed for the rigs when the PA opened, so our response time was pretty quick. Upon arrival, we found a brand new (rented) Impala had tangled with a 4x4 pickup with a utility trailer in tow. Initial size-up was pretty routine; Impala driver had to be freed with the Hurst and the pickup (although rolled and pretty much destroyed) had protected the driver to the point that he walked away with minor lacs & bruises. The fun began when we approached the vehicles and saw what appeared to be pancake batter all over three lanes of traffic. Turns out the trailer was loaded with flooring supplies and the "pancake batter" was the remains of two 5 gallon buckets of floor cement that had exploded on impact with the ground. The stuff was everywhere! Imagine all the junk on the ground at an MVA; glass, plastic, trash, paper, etc. Now, imagine it's all cemented to the bottom of your turnout boots, and every time you pull it off with one boot, it sticks to that boot and you collect more when you put your foot down. We had oil and antifreeze mixed with diesel fuel from the truck running through it too. Luckily, the next jurisdiction is close to the Interstate and keeps an old military trailer loaded with about 2 yards of sand for bang-ups on the Big Road. They responded quickly and arrived in record time. Oh yes, it was 97 degrees at the time with 80% plus humidity, too. Believe it or not, everyone on the scene (including 2 PD!) fell to the task at hand and we had the intersection open 45 minutes after initial impact. Both vehicles were already on the rollbacks, sand was spread, and on-scene reports done as well. Great cooperation brings great results, but it'll be days before I wear all that crap off the bottom of my boots... =).
TF
TF
