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An freak accident on July 4 has taken out the village of Richfield Springs’ ambulance for awhile, the village’s fire chief Tom Hallock said.
While transporting a patient from the village to Bassett Hospital, a tree literally fell on top of the ambulance, causing a substantial amount of damage, Hallock said.
“We don’t have an estimate yet, but there was a considerable amount of damage,” Hallock said. Damage includes the grill pushed into the motor, both mirrors taken out, the light bar is now gone, several holes in the box of the ambulance and the windshield on the driver’s side pushed in about two inches. Hallock said he doesn’t know yet if the rig sustained frame damage.
“Thank God no one was injured,” Hallock said.
Hallock said the accident occurred at about 9:45 p.m., Saturday, just at the beginning of the fireworks display. Hallock, who was there with his wife, said the show was about three minutes in when he got the call that ‘an ambulance struck a tree.’ Hallock responded and upon his arrival, discovered it was the tree that had hit the ambulance.
“It just fell. I don’t know whether it was the rain soaked ground that caused the roots to give out, or the wind that did it,” Hallock said.
The patient, Hallock said, had to wait until Fly Creek Fire Dept. could respond with a chain saw to cut away the tree to extricate the patient. Once that happened, another ambulance transported the patient the rest of the trip. Hallock said the tree fell on Route 28, about four miles from the ambulance’s final destination.
Hallock credits the driver of the rig with not making a bad situation even worse.
“He just held tight to the steering wheel, hit the brakes and closed his eyes,” he said.
The two EMTs in the back of the rig were also unhurt, as was the patient.
“I don’t know how the driver did not get a face full of glass,” Hallock said.
The ambulance was towed from the scene and taken to Chuck’s Towing and Collision in the village. Before it could be loaded onto the flatbed, it had to be raised four feet off of the ground to remove the wood that was stuck underneath. Hallock said damages should be taken care of by the insurance company.
With the village without its ambulance, the call has gone out to neighboring departments, like Cooperstown and the town of Unadilla to borrow a rig until Richfield’s is fixed and back in service.
“Cooperstown is probably not going to be able to help us, they are so busy themselves. Unadilla will meet Wednesday, but I got the indication it won’t be a problem for them to let us use one of their rigs,” Hallock said.
In the meantime, Hallock wants the village residents, and the districts of the towns of Exeter, Warren, Richfield Springs and part of the town of Otsego to continue to call the fire department in the event of an emergency.
“We will respond with our rescue truck, and we have everything we need to treat patients, we just can’t transport right now. We ask that everyone to be patient,” Hallock said.
As for fireworks, Hallock said he thinks he is going to stay home next year.
“This is the second time I haven’t been able to watch the display. In 2008, I saw the first rocket and then got toned out to a three-car accident. Now this year the ambulance gets hit by a tree. I think I will skip next year’s,” he said.
An freak accident on July 4 has taken out the village of Richfield Springs’ ambulance for awhile, the village’s fire chief Tom Hallock said.
While transporting a patient from the village to Bassett Hospital, a tree literally fell on top of the ambulance, causing a substantial amount of damage, Hallock said.
“We don’t have an estimate yet, but there was a considerable amount of damage,” Hallock said. Damage includes the grill pushed into the motor, both mirrors taken out, the light bar is now gone, several holes in the box of the ambulance and the windshield on the driver’s side pushed in about two inches. Hallock said he doesn’t know yet if the rig sustained frame damage.
“Thank God no one was injured,” Hallock said.
Hallock said the accident occurred at about 9:45 p.m., Saturday, just at the beginning of the fireworks display. Hallock, who was there with his wife, said the show was about three minutes in when he got the call that ‘an ambulance struck a tree.’ Hallock responded and upon his arrival, discovered it was the tree that had hit the ambulance.
“It just fell. I don’t know whether it was the rain soaked ground that caused the roots to give out, or the wind that did it,” Hallock said.
The patient, Hallock said, had to wait until Fly Creek Fire Dept. could respond with a chain saw to cut away the tree to extricate the patient. Once that happened, another ambulance transported the patient the rest of the trip. Hallock said the tree fell on Route 28, about four miles from the ambulance’s final destination.
Hallock credits the driver of the rig with not making a bad situation even worse.
“He just held tight to the steering wheel, hit the brakes and closed his eyes,” he said.
The two EMTs in the back of the rig were also unhurt, as was the patient.
“I don’t know how the driver did not get a face full of glass,” Hallock said.
The ambulance was towed from the scene and taken to Chuck’s Towing and Collision in the village. Before it could be loaded onto the flatbed, it had to be raised four feet off of the ground to remove the wood that was stuck underneath. Hallock said damages should be taken care of by the insurance company.
With the village without its ambulance, the call has gone out to neighboring departments, like Cooperstown and the town of Unadilla to borrow a rig until Richfield’s is fixed and back in service.
“Cooperstown is probably not going to be able to help us, they are so busy themselves. Unadilla will meet Wednesday, but I got the indication it won’t be a problem for them to let us use one of their rigs,” Hallock said.
In the meantime, Hallock wants the village residents, and the districts of the towns of Exeter, Warren, Richfield Springs and part of the town of Otsego to continue to call the fire department in the event of an emergency.
“We will respond with our rescue truck, and we have everything we need to treat patients, we just can’t transport right now. We ask that everyone to be patient,” Hallock said.
As for fireworks, Hallock said he thinks he is going to stay home next year.
“This is the second time I haven’t been able to watch the display. In 2008, I saw the first rocket and then got toned out to a three-car accident. Now this year the ambulance gets hit by a tree. I think I will skip next year’s,” he said.
