Brockport Firefighters (BFD), the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Monroe Ambulance were dispatched for a motor vehicle accident in the area of 538 Salmon Creek Road in the Town of Sweden on June 1 at 11:30 a.m. The caller stated a car had struck a tree, one person was trapped inside, and the vehicle was on fire. Due to the proximity to the Town of Ogden, and the seriousness of the incident, officers from the Ogden Police Department (OPD) responded immediately with the Deputies from MCSO. Deputy Fire Chief (DC) Jose Medina (BFD) requested Spencerport Fire Department (SFD) be added to the assignment as he called enroute to the scene.
First arriving personnel from the OPD were faced with heavy smoke conditions and an engine compartment burning. OPD Officer Jared Dent attempted to free the victim from the vehicle, however, was unsuccessful. Realizing he would need assistance with the rescue and the fire was now burning out of control, he retrieved the fire extinguisher from his patrol vehicle and attempted to extinguish the blaze in the engine compartment. The Officer was immediately thereafter joined by MCSO Deputy James Shaw, and DC Medina. Others from OPD, and MCSO were soon to follow. In a concerted, cooperative effort, extinguishers were used from all the police vehicles, the fire chief’s vehicle and the neighbors brought theirs out to responders while the first fire truck was on its way. In the meantime, part of this team was focused on keeping the flames at bay, and out of the passenger compartment, while others were concentrating on removing the injured driver from the wreckage.
Knowing the front doors were both jammed, rescuers attempted the rear doors and gained access. DC Medina entered the back seat behind the driver and was assessing the patient while formulating an extrication plan under heated and smoky conditions. He was able to reach forward between the driver’s door and the patient to release the recliner handle and lower the back of the driver’s seat. Flames were starting to come into the passenger compartment beneath the dashboard. MCSO Deputy Brian McCoy leaned in the rear door on the passenger side to assist DC Medina in removing the male from the vehicle. They passed the victim through the passenger door to waiting OPD officers and MCSO deputies outside who dragged the occupant to safety only seconds before the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames. This all occurred in less than ten minutes from the time units were dispatched.
The victim was rushed to Strong Memorial Hospital via Monroe Ambulance where he is alive today because of the heroic acts performed by many people from several agencies.
First arriving fire apparatus was BFD’s Rescue 238. They initiated a more aggressive fire suppression with their on-board Compressed Air Foam (CAF) unit and were joined moments later by SFD’s Pumper 2912 whose personnel stretched several lines to aid BFD in bringing the blaze under control. Units from neighboring fire departments were called. Bergen FD assisted at the scene while Holley FD filled in at the BFD station.
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Photos provided by Brockport Fire Department
