BUS/TRUCK CRASH
RESCUE/EMS
The disaster planning and training of several rural New York fire departments was put to the test last April 5 when a tractortrailer collided head-on with a bus carrying 21 employees and clients of the Association for Retarded Children. Five people were killed and 17 injured in the crash.
The incident occurred just south of South New Berlin on a rural highway lined with dairy farms. Investigators report that one of the tractor-trailer’s front tires ruptured after running over a wobbly farm plow being hauled in the opposite direction by another truck in front of the bus. The tractor-trailer jackknifed then slammed into the bus, which came to rest on top of a row of guardrails. A tree on the right side of the bus prevented it from rolling down a steep embankment.
One of the tractor’s saddle tanks ruptured, spilling diesel fuel under and around the bus. A fire, the cause of which is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, began in the tractor-trailer s engine compartment and spread to the passenger section. William Izard, 19 years old, bravely pulled the tractor-trailer driver from the burning cab.
The Chenango County Fire Control Center received the initial telephone report of the incident at 3:41 p.m. and activated the South New Berlin Fire Department’s siren and home monitors. Area residents had removed 11 of the bus passengers prior to arrival of fire personnel.
Chief Mike Barry, an EMT, following daytime procedure based on the shortage of manpower, responded to the station where he manned the first-due pumper. Moments later, the ambulance responded.
While en route, Barry requested mutual aid for additional ambulances from Mt. Upton and Norwich,
Barry was the first to arrive at the scene at 3:44 p.m., and reported the tractor fully involved. Two 1 1/2-inch hand lines were stretched and used to attack the fire with water from the pumper’s booster tank, which also contained Fire Out, a fire extinguishing water additive. The fuel spill on the ground had not ignited but posed a serious threat to victims and rescuers.
Barry requested more ambulances and several were dispatched from neighboring fire departments. The South New Berlin department s second pumper, equipment truck and tanker also responded.
Lieutenant Jim Rogers, an advanced EMT, was designated triage officer and he began assessing the situation.
The bus had six windows on each side, all hinged at the top. The main boarding door could not be opened due to a body wedged between the door and the steps. The wheelchair ramp, located in the right rear section, was pushed out of the bus and even with the doorsill when the crash occurred. Because of the position of the bus and embankment, the ramp could not be lowered to the ground.
A ladder was used to gain access to the bus through the rear wheelchair door. Ten of the occupants were still on the bus. Six were pinned and would require extrication. One casualty was wedged between a seat and the floor, which had buckled upward. Four DOAs and one mortally injured casualty were determined “low priority” during triage, and efforts were concentrated on the seriously injured who could be saved.
Barry ordered the control center to advise Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich of the number of patients to expect. The hospital activated the Four County Disaster Plan at 3:50 p.m. All hospitals in Chenango and three surrounding counties were mobilized and an assessment made of available blood, drugs and beds.
Meanwhile, the extrication operation was running into problems. The spilled diesel fuel created a very slippery surface. The hinged windows had to be propped or held open so that victims could be passed through on backboards. Hinges were later removed on two of the windows, but a more convenient opening closer to the ground was needed.
An air chisel was used to cut a channel wide enough for a backboard to pass through on the left side of the bus. A Hurst tool was later used to enlarge the opening.
Rescuers failed in their attempts to unbolt the seat which was pinning the victim between it and the floor. A hacksaw was used to cut through the seat legs, freeing the victim.
The use of inhalators during the treatment of victims created an oxygen-rich atmosphere inside the bus and rescuers were especially careful not to cause any sparks while working.
The South New Berlin, N.Y., Fire Department with 75 volunteer members, some of whom are certified EMTs, covers a 78V2-square-mile area. The department operates out of a single station that houses two 750-gpm pumpers, an ambulance, a 1200-gallon tanker and an equipment truck. All ambulance squads are operated by Chenango County’s fire departments.
Ken Wiggins, a Chenango County deputy fire coordinator and supervisor of emergency medical services, arrived at 4:10 p.m. and assumed overall command of the EMS operation. Rogers continued as triage officer.
The first casualty was transported to Chenango Memorial Hospital at 4:12 p.m. Nine ambulances from emergency squads in South New Berlin, Norwich, New Berlin, Oxford, Mt. Upton and Gilbertsville were involved in the incident. An ambulance staging area was set up at an intersection 100 feet north of the scene. This provided a convenient location for the vehicles to turn around, although equipment and stretchers had to be walked to the scene. Varied response distances prevented any backup of ambulances waiting for patients. None of the units transported more than two patients at once. The last casualty was transported at 4:55 p.m.
—photos by Bruce Endries, Oneonta Daily Star
Traffic and crowd control was handled initially by fire control personnel, who were later assisted by deputies from the Chenango County Sheriff’s Department. The area around the accident was roped off and only fire and police personnel were allowed inside the perimeter. The news media was allowed access after the seriously injured victims had been removed and the fire danger alleviated.
Looking back at this incident, Deputy Coordinator Wiggins said that the patients should have been more evenly distributed among the hospitals. Seventeen were transported to Chenango Memorial, four to The Hospital in Sidney, and one to Fox Hospital in Oneonta.
Wiggins also advises rural emergency squads not to attempt to apply plans that work in urban areas to incidents in rural settings. Rural departments must consider the longer time element involved in getting needed equipment, apparatus and manpower; the terrain; and the lesser availability of outside resources.
