Information Release by ESD 1 MEDINA COUNTY Sept 25—Last week we posted about the recent severe vehicle accidents within our district. And again yesterday our crews were challenged with an accident that tested the skills of some of our most experienced responders.
Just after 1pm multiple 911 calls begin arriving, reporting a major accident on Potranco Rd near FM 471N of two vehicles head on and entrapments. Engine 8115 arrived first within 5 minutes to find a two vehicle accident with one vehicle with catastrophic damage that was now on fire with an occupant severely trapped. Stations 10 and 14 were already enroute to assist.
Engine 15s crew quickly extinguished the vehicle fire ultimately saving the occupant from burning allowing the best chance for survival. Crews were only able to see a very small portion of the patient but were able to determine that this patient had survived the initial impact and fire. Had there been any delay in response the fire would have consumed the vehicle with the driver in it.
Crews then developed a plan for the extrication and recognizing the need for additional assistance Bexar County 2 Fire Department Station 124 was dispatched. It then took just over an hour to meticulously remove the car piece by piece from around the driver so our EMS crews could stabilize and ultimately place him on a medical aircraft for quicker transport to the trauma center.
We share these images, while graphic, it highlights the dangers that drivers have placed themselves, as well as others in, and what our responders are faced with.
All the crews that responded to this scene performed diligently in the face of an extremely challenging incident, with a small margin of error to truly save the driver’s life and we are proud of what they did on this incident as well as daily to protect the citizens of the county.
We continue to encourage you to talk with your families about the dangers of distracted driving or just poor choices while operating a vehicle.