Four firefighters from Fairmount Fire Company #1 received a lifesaving award from the 200 Club of Hunterdon County on 5/10/2017. The award was presented to recognize their actions in saving a patient involved in a motor vehicle accident on February 20, 2016.
The recipients are: Robert Cline Sr, Robert Cline Jr, Cory Waller and Sawyer Waller. This team provided critical patient care for a bicyclist that was reportedly stuck by an automobile prior to the arrival of EMS personnel.
Fairmount Fire was requested to establish a medevac landing zone for a victim of an automobile accident. The victim was reported to be riding a bicycle that was stuck by an automobile. Initial radio reports indicated that the victim was severely injured. The team responded to the firehouse and several had been monitoring their radio scanners and noted that no EMS units had yet responded. The group decided to take a quicker vehicle to respond to the patient. A second crew established the landing zone.
Once on scene, Firefighter/EMT Robert Cline Jr took over patient care. His initial assessment showed the patient was unconscious with massive facial trauma and a compromised airway. The team was able to clear the airway and ventilate him allowing him to breathe again. The Tewksbury First Aid squad arrived shortly thereafter and took over patient care.
The actions of the Fairmount team saved the patient’s life. The situational awareness of the severity of the patient’s condition and the lack of any rescue squad(s) on the road led them to make a decision to respond with a quicker vehicle to render aid to the victim in a timely manner. The patient made it to the hospital alive so doctors had a chance to save him due to the quick thinking and training of this team.
