Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue VALOROUS UNIT AWARD BRONZE AWARD

OnApril 11th, 2022, units from Prince William County were dispatched to an auto accident on Lee Highway. While responding, crews were notified that the vehicle is now on fire with someone trapped inside. Rescue 522 and Medic 522 were the first to arrive and confirmed there was a vehicle off the roadway, and on fire. There was no fire engine on scene yet, so Rescue 522 had to somehow handle fire extinguishment and patient removal with assistance from Medic 522. Multiple fire extinguishers were used, while personnel from both Rescue and Medic 522 put themselves directly in harm’s way to work on extricating the patient as fire started to spread closer to the victim. The unconscious patient was removed by the crews within a couple minutes. The patient

Medic 522

would eventually go into cardiac arrest once removed from the hazardous environment. Engine 504 arrived and integrated with the crews to support all efforts with patient care and fire extinguishment. CPR was initiated, and after some time, crews were able to get a pulse back. The paramedics had to perform needle chest decompressions which allowed the patient to be stabilized at the hospital and later sent via helicopter to a trauma center. This very dynamic incident would not have been successful without the coordinated efforts, skills and focus of all personnel on scene. Personnel had to perform tasks outside of the normal duties, combine crews, and put their own safety second to ensure the patient had the best chance for survival.