Thursday, Oct 6, 2016
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
Mid-air magic Ashburton youth Jayden Baker, 12, makes the most of the last few days of the school holidays in Ashburton’s skate park.
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PHOTO TETSURO MITOMO 051016-TM-0075
St Stephen’s back on deck P3
Smash highlights reliance on bridge BY MICHELLE NELSON
MICHELLE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
Croquet boys off to worlds P17
A minor traffic smash on the Ashburton River Bridge this week once again emphasised the risk of having just one route south for the town’s emergency services. Events such as the three vehicle noseto-tail incident which brought north and southbound traffic to a standstill are rare, but warrant contingency planning, Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy chief Graeme Baker said. In his 49 years as a volunteer firefighter Baker could only recall a handful of occasions when the bridge was closed due to an incident. While such events are not commonplace, Baker agreed it caused problems for emergency services when the bridge was out of action. The only other place to cross the river is at Ashburton Forks bridge, which would add 45 minutes to
a State Highway One call-out. “If the bridge was out and there was an emergency call-out in Tinwald or further south we would have to activate an alternative plan,” Baker said. That could involve calling in fire services from Hinds, Willowby, Mt Somers and Mayfield, with the possibility of enlisting help from the Geraldine Volunteer Fire Brigade. When Tuesday afternoon’s incident forced CBD traffic into gridlock, the fire service was called in to assist in directing motorists. St John territorial manager Mid Canterbury Ian Rex said in the case of a bridge closure preventing an ambulance from attending emergencies, the normal procedure was to liaise with police. “Usually it’s a case of removing any vehicles involved in incidents on the bridge and often there’s room to get
through – but we would deal with it on a case-by-case basis,” Rex said. If necessary, the ambulance service would look at the closest and most appropriate alternative, which could include requesting help from Geraldine, Temuka or Timaru. St John spokesperson Ian Henderson confirmed the ambulance was able to access the scene on Tuesday night with minimal delays within four minutes of receiving the call-out. Three patients were assessed at the scene, then transferred to Ashburton Hospital – arriving at 5.12pm. All had minor to moderate injuries. “The traffic from this accident was a challenge but our ambulance was able to get through to the patients.”
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