Upon arrival, Robesonia Fire Company Chief John Christman reported the second floor was completely collapsed. A crew confirmed an occupant was pinned by a 100- to 200-foot tree and debris.<\/p>\n
With all of that weight resting on the ground floor and the patient unable to be easily removed by medics, Christman assessed it would be a complex rescue requiring the expertise and manpower of other companies.<\/p>\n
He dispatched the collapse unit from Boyertown Fire & Rescue to shore up the structure and Spring Township Fire Rescue Services for their technical rescue expertise.<\/p>\n
Because of the potential crushing injuries to the patient and possible need for pre-hospitalization blood transfusion, the fire chief requested Squad 6899, which is the Tower Health critical care truck, to assist a Western Berks Ambulance crew.<\/p>\n
The critical care truck, based at Reading Hospital, is staffed by pre-hospital critical care nurses. The team, which is available to all Berks fire, police and emergency medical services, can administer transfusions on-scene to patients with traumatic injuries.<\/p>\n
Crews used rescue tools to make space between the tree and the patient\u2019s upper body. They also employed a technique known as cribbing \u2014 stacking interlocking blocks to create a support system to stabilize heavy objects to prevent unpredictable movement or collapse during a rescue.<\/p>\n
Plans were devised for freeing the patient, with one involving a request to Spitler\u2019s Garage & Towing, Wernersville, to bring in one of its heavy wreckers. Once on scene, crews began to rig the tree for lifting.<\/p>\n
After about two exhausting hours, the patient was removed from the second floor and taken to a Western Berks ambulance unit for transport to Reading Hospital. Information on her medical condition was not immediately available.<\/p>\n
Christman said he can only surmise the windy conditions caused the tree to topple. Robesonia Fire Company, as with others, were extremely busy between 9 p.m. Wednesday and about the time the tree fell onto house due to steady winds of 25 to 30 mph.<\/p>\n
Numerous trees were toppled after a brief thunderstorm with gusts exceeding 60 mph cut through Berks on Wednesday night. A top gust of 61 mph was recorded at Reading Regional Airport during the storm, according to National Weather Service data.<\/p>\n
About 1,700 Met-Ed customers were without power Thursday morning in the aftermath.<\/p>\n
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