Fire Rescue Helps Save Students in Bus Accident
On March 13, 2018, Escambia County Fire Rescue crews were among the many agencies that responded to a charter bus accident on Interstate 10 in Baldwin County, Alabama. ECFR provided four engines including special ops,along with the acting fire chief and two battalion chiefs.
In all, the combined task force of public safety agencies rescued and transported 45 injured patients and recovered one deceased individual. Of those patients, 44 were transported off the scene within one hour and 12 minutes of Escambia County arriving on scene. This equates to a Level 3 Mass Casualty Incident, which many fire and public safety professionals may go their entire career without seeing.
Escambia County Fire Rescue and other public safety teams including Escambia County EMS worked in challenging conditions to mitigate this incident, executing highly technical extrication, rescue and transport of those involved. The scene was challenging due to many factors, including the fact that it took place in a rural setting with no medical facilities close by, much of the rescue took place in the dark, and access to the bus was limited since it was located approximately 75 feet below ground level of the interstate.
Escambia County committed 13 physical resources, command presence, specialized equipment and well-trained professionals to the incident, working with Alabama officials to rescue the 44 people on the bus and mitigate the incident as efficiently as possible.