Two Fridays ago we suffered another injury to a sawyer. Once again it was a Cal Fire Captain.
At 11:30 I had just moved my truck down the hill and locked a gate behind me and was pulling up to the crew bus (this was a inmate hand crew, 13 (IIRC) inmates plus a Captain) when an inmate ran in front of me and yelled "Bill the Captain is down". I parked and grabbed me first aid kit, which got stuck on the driver's seat and took a minute to unhook, and headed up the hill. Another inmate ran down the hill to the bus to fetch the backboard. When I got to the scene I did a quick assessment. Breathing, conscious, alert, not able to move.
The Captain and swamper (Swamper is the head inmate and carries a radio), had coordinated a call for help to dispatch. We are only a few miles from the nearest Cal Fire station with a BLS engine.
The Captain was cutting and old blowdown madrone out of the crotch of another madrone. On his last cut he misjudged the forces and an 8'-10' 18" diameter log rotated backwards out of the crotch where it was resting and came back and hit him hard on the helmet and left shoulder blade. He said he felt driven into the ground.
He hit the ground in a position of comfort with his right arm curled under his head breaking his fall. I left him in the position. (I was the only first aid trained person on the scene for 15 minutes). The engine crew arrived, then a State Parks Ranger. I would guess the paramedic ambulance to 30 minutes. Stanford Life Flight arrived soon after. State Parks left the scene to secure the nearest parking area to land the helicopter. Other Cal Fire units arrived with specialized recue gear.
At 11:30 I had just moved my truck down the hill and locked a gate behind me and was pulling up to the crew bus (this was a inmate hand crew, 13 (IIRC) inmates plus a Captain) when an inmate ran in front of me and yelled "Bill the Captain is down". I parked and grabbed me first aid kit, which got stuck on the driver's seat and took a minute to unhook, and headed up the hill. Another inmate ran down the hill to the bus to fetch the backboard. When I got to the scene I did a quick assessment. Breathing, conscious, alert, not able to move.
The Captain and swamper (Swamper is the head inmate and carries a radio), had coordinated a call for help to dispatch. We are only a few miles from the nearest Cal Fire station with a BLS engine.
The Captain was cutting and old blowdown madrone out of the crotch of another madrone. On his last cut he misjudged the forces and an 8'-10' 18" diameter log rotated backwards out of the crotch where it was resting and came back and hit him hard on the helmet and left shoulder blade. He said he felt driven into the ground.
He hit the ground in a position of comfort with his right arm curled under his head breaking his fall. I left him in the position. (I was the only first aid trained person on the scene for 15 minutes). The engine crew arrived, then a State Parks Ranger. I would guess the paramedic ambulance to 30 minutes. Stanford Life Flight arrived soon after. State Parks left the scene to secure the nearest parking area to land the helicopter. Other Cal Fire units arrived with specialized recue gear.