Fire Blotter: Firefighters Cut Off Hospital Patient's Ring with a Whizzer

From the Arcadia Fire Department:

Sunday, June 2
At 1:12 p.m., Engine 106 and Rescue Ambulance 106 responded to a medical assist in the 1000 block of Sunset Boulevard. Fire personnel evaluated a male patient who suffered a fall, sustaining a large avulsion to the head. The patient received advanced life support at the scene; including oxygen therapy, spinal immobilization, intravenous access, drug therapy for pain management, and wound care. The patient was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital for further evaluation and treatment.

Monday, June 3
At 1:37 p.m., Truck 105 and Rescue Ambulance 105 responded to a medical assist in the 600 block of Naomi Avenue. Fire personnel evaluated a female patient who was suffering from severe abdominal pain. The patient received advanced life support at the scene; including oxygen therapy, 12 lead cardiac monitoring, and intravenous access. The patient was transported to Arcadia Methodist Hospital for further evaluation and treatment.

Tuesday, June 4
At 9:12 a.m., Engine 107 responded to a vehicle leaking fuel in the 400 block of North First Avenue. Fire personnel found a vehicle with gasoline leaking from a damaged fuel tank. Fire personnel utilized a patching compound to seal the leaking tank and remained on scene until a tow truck arrived to safely transport the vehicle to a repair facility.

Wednesday, June 5
At 11:52 a.m., Engine 105 and Rescue Ambulance 106 responded to a traffic collision in the 600 block of South First Avenue. Fire personnel evaluated one patient suffering from mild to moderate injuries. The patient received advanced life support at the scene; including full spinal immobilization, oxygen therapy, 12 lead cardiac monitoring, and wound care. The patient was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital for further evaluation and treatment.

Thursday, June 6
At 10:49 a.m., Engine 105 responded to a reported fire in the 100 block of East Campus Drive. Fire crews arrived to find onsite construction workers had extinguished a small fire in the men’s restroom inside a portable trailer. Toilet paper and a plastic dispenser had been ignited and the fire spread rapidly before being extinguished. Further investigation revealed that two male juveniles were seen running from the restroom moments before the fire became apparent.

An on duty Arson Investigator assisted Arcadia Police with the investigation. Witness statements and an onsite video camera were instrumental in immediately identifying the two suspects. After interrogating the suspects, one was arrested and the other was released to his parents. The restroom sustained minor damage.

Friday, June 7
At 7:34 a.m., Engine 105 and Rescue Ambulance 105 responded to a traffic collision with injuries at the intersection of South Fourth Avenue and East Live Oak Avenue. Fire crews evaluated an elderly male involved in the collision, suffering from an altered level of consciousness, along with neck, back and head pain.

Firefighters determined the patient was a suspect in a previous traffic collision in a neighboring city and had fled the scene. A witness from the original traffic collision followed the driver, who was driving erratically, and used his own vehicle to forcibly stop the suspect vehicle, causing a minor second traffic incident.

Paramedics provided advanced life support measures on scene; including intravenous access, 12 lead electrocardiogram, full spinal immobilization, and oxygen therapy. The patient was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital for further evaluation.

Saturday, June 8
At 2:18 p.m., Truck 105 responded to a public assist in the 300 block of West Huntington Drive. Arcadia Methodist Hospital Emergency Room staff requested assistance with removing a ring from a patient. Hospital personnel had attempted to remove the ring by various methods without success. Fire crews arrived and utilized a pneumatic whizzer tool to cut off the metal ring. Water was used to cool the ring during the procedure in order to prevent a burn injury. The ring was safely removed without further injury or incident.