New Castle County Paramedics (NCCEMS) deployed their new Technical Rescue Team on Wednesday.
At approximately 1:06 p.m. the New Castle County Paramedics and numerous New Castle County Volunteer Fire Companies, responded to the 100 block of Maple Street, in the Murray Manor Trailer Park, for the report of a worker trapped underneath a trailer.
Due to the nature of the incident, the newly formed New Castle County Paramedics Technical Rescue Team was also activated, marking the first official response of the specialized team.
NCCEMS S/Sergeant Abigail Haas said the five-member team, headed by Lieutenant Peter Small, was selected in March of 2022. Since that time, teammates have been trained to the “operations level” in Structural Collapse Rescue, “awareness level” in Trench Collapse Rescue, “technician level” in Ropes Rescue, High Angle Rescue, and Confined Space Rescue. Teammates are Pro-Board Certified in Ropes Rescue and Confined Space Rescue. The team trains with both the New Castle County Collapse Rescue Team and the Wilmington Fire Department.
Having a specialized team of Paramedics trained to this level is invaluable when incidents like this happen said Haas.
Though infrequent, events involving entrapments, rescues, and collapses, can be long and arduous. Patients who are involved in these incidents often need higher level medical care which can be provided by licensed paramedics who are cross-trained as technical rescue personnel in a manner that is rapid and safer for the providers involved.
The 21-year-old male patient involved in this incident was successfully removed from the trailer in under 20 minutes, by rescue personnel. He was transported to the Christiana Hospital in stable condition.
