Columbus firefighters use a “quint” firetruck to rescue a Camp Atterbury paratrooper from a large tree on the base property at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. — Columbus firefighters helped in a military operation Thursday, working with Camp Atterbury personnel to extricate a paratrooper from his parachute, which was stuck in a tall tree on the Atterbury property.
The serviceman’s condition is unknown at this point, but firefighters said after he was extricated from his parachute in the tree, he walked down the fire ladder to medical personnel from Columbus Regional Health and Lifeline, to be checked out.
Columbus Fire Chief Andy Lay said the call for mutual aid came at 5:30 p.m. Thursday about the paratrooper in the tree. Responding from Columbus Fire Department were Engine 2, Squad 2 and Battalion 1, led by Battalion Chief Mike Sieverding.
The medical personnel were needed as Lay said CFD was told the paratrooper had been hanging in the tree “for awhile” and there were concerns about his medical condition while the rescue continued. Firefighters said they are unsure how long he was in the tree, located about 50 feet up with the parachute entangled in the top of the tree.
There was a medical concern as the parachute’s harness can “dig in” to an individual’s body when they are hanging within it for a length of time, potentially cutting off circulation.
Because firefighters had to go “off-road” to reach the tree, they drove what is known as a “quint,” which is a combination pumper firefighting truck that is an engine and a ladder truck. “Quint” refers to the five things the truck has, a pump, water tank, fire hose, aerial device and ground ladders.
Lay said firefighters knew they might get stuck off-road and emptied the water out of the truck before driving to the wooded area. “They were thinking out-of-the-box on that,” Lay said, because off-road, they knew it could get stuck.
Upon arrival, they used the ladder to reach the paratrooper, attached, a safety line to him and walked him down to waiting medical personnel, Lay said. The paratrooper was transported by helicopter for additional medical evaluation.
Lay said the “quint” did eventually get stuck during the operation, and a Camp Atterbury wrecker pulled it back to the road on the base following the rescue.
It was a good collaboration, Lay said. “It wasn’t that heroic or anything, it was pretty low key. The number one goal was his safety.”
This story is shared from The (Columbus) Republic, a sister newspaper of the Daily Journal.
