Merrill Fire Department performs high angle rescue with assistance from Town of Russell personnel
TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
On Saturday, August 14, 2021, the Lincoln County Dispatch Center (LCDC) received a 911 call at around 9:27 a.m. requesting an ambulance be dispatched to the Prairie Dells viewing area in the Town of Schley on Prairie Dells Road, just off of Hwy. 17 near Gleason.
Ultimately, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department (LCSD) Officers; Merrill Fire Department (MFD) Engine 61, Truck 63, and MED 63 (ambulance) and personnel; Town of Russell Fire Department personnel, Town of Russell First Responders, Tomahawk EMS, and the Spirit helicopter all responded. Various agencies worked together to perform a rescue of a 45-year-old Rhinelander woman who had fallen “while looking at the falls” according to the Dispatch Log’s note about what the 911 caller had said. “Reporting party believes she fell over 20 feet,” it noted.
The caller could not see where the woman had fallen, but officers who arrived on scene were able to locate her down a steep embankment after they heard her moaning. Contact was made with the woman, as she was conscious and not bleeding, but they were unable to do a complete assessment at that time.
The Spirit helicopter was called in for rapid transport of the patient, and the Merrill Fire Department was called in to do a high angle rescue, something their recent confined space training had helped prepare them to do.
The Merrill Fire Department report from the incident confirms they were “Dispatched to the scene of a patient that had fallen down a sheer cliff approximately 20 feet. Eng-61 was used for its rescue ropes and stokes basket needed to extricate the patient. Patient was packaged by MFD personnel with assistance from Town of Russell First Responders and Fire Personnel. LCSD was also on scene.”
“A simple rope system was used to hoist this patient to safety and eventual transport by helicopter,” the report continued. “With the number of emergency personnel on scene, the extrication was conducted in a very safe manner. A tag line was used to keep the bottom of the stokes stable while the patient was brought to the safe area approximately 20 feet from where she was packaged.”
“This incident occurred in the fire/rescue jurisdiction of the Russell Fire Department,” said Merrill Fire Chief Josh Klug. “However, they do not have the equipment, training, or qualified personnel to handle such an emergency.”
“Fortunately, Merrill Fire Department does have the capability to handle such an incident,” he said. “We are glad they requested us that night. It is great to have both departments working together, especially when we have a low frequency, high risk rescue to perform like [this one]. We would like to thank their personnel for assisting us on the rescue that night.”
The intersection of County Hwy. G and State Hwy. 17 were closed temporarily to allow the Spirit helicopter to land. The patient was transported by ambulance to the helicopter and then to Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Tomahawk via helicopter.
A Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy completed an incident report that indicated the 50-year-old Rhinelander man who called 911 and the injured woman were not well acquainted. They had recently met and were going for a walk near Prairie Dells when the woman got too close to the edge of the cliff and fell about 20 feet where she landed on a rock. The officer noted the woman complained of back pain and had visible scrapes on both of her legs and was unable to speak coherently or answer questions at the time.
“This appears to be an accident where [the woman] slipped on a rock and fell,” the report concluded. The report also noted that alcohol appeared to be a contributing factor.
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