Busy Night for Benedict Volunteers

On Friday, January 28, as members were conducting a community event at the station, Benedict Volunteers where dispatched at 8:46pm for the reported building fire at 7189 Benedict Ave (St. Francis DeSales Church). Engine 5-3 (A. Stephens) and Ambulance 58 (D. Cusick) responded with 6 personnel. Engine 5-3 arrived to find a church with nothing evident. Engine 5-3 layed out at the hydrant on Mill Creek Road and pulled a 200 ft, 1 3/4 line as precaution. Cheif 5A (S.Kerrigan) arrived on location and assumed the Benedict Command. Engine 5-3's crew made entry into the building. Engine 2-3 arrived on location and picked up Engine 5-3's line. Engine 2-3's crew used the thermal imager to search for hot spots. There were no hot spots or fire found. Cheif 5A placed the assingment in service.

As units returned and started to clean up, Ambulance 5-8 was dispatched at 2323 hours for the overturned vehicle in the area of 16370 Prince Frederick Road. Ambulance 5-8 (A. Stephens) responded with 3. Two minutes later, Rescue Engine 5-2 (N. Ruslander) responded with 4. Squad 2 and Ambulance 5-8 arrived on scene to find a Jeep down a 30 foot hill in a gully. Ambulance 5-8's crew checked what they could of the jeep due to terrain and found no patient. Ambulance 5-8's crew then check the area for the patient as Squad 2 deployed scene lights. Rescue Engine 5-2 arrived on scene. Command was passed to Cheif 5A (S. Kerrigan) and Squad 2 took operations. The crews then deployed the thermal imager to search the area. Ambulance 5-8 and Paramedic Ambulance 2-8 then extended the area by going down another 30 foot gully. Once the crews were down, both crews found the patient in the gully under the Jeep. The patient was not trapped. The crews deployed chains to the Jeep and Rescue Engine 5-2's front bumper winch to secure the Jeep. The crews then sent down a stokes basket attached to a rope. Squad 2, Ambulance 5-8 and Ambulance 2-8 packaged the patient. Command started a helicopter. Helicopters were down due to weather. Command then held the asignment with the units on scene, placing the high angle rescue team in service. Once the patient was packaged, the crews then pulled the stokes basket up the hill as Squad 2 guided the stokes basket up the hill. Once up the hill, the crews then transferred the patient to the stretcher with the backboard. Ambulance 5-8 then loaded the stretcher in the back of Paramedic Ambulance 2-8. Ambulance 28 then transported to Calvert Memorial Hospital. Ambulance 5-8, Rescue Engine 5-2, and Squad 2 remained on scene for another half hour.