Article

Photo Grant Therrien

Roof Top Rescue

April 2009 JEMS Vol. 34 No. 4
2009 Apr 1

A mishandled steel beam struck a 23-year-old construction worker in the lower leg while he was on the roof of a three-story building. He suffered extreme pain from a fractured tib/fib and was unable to get down a ladder, so 9-1-1 was activated. Paramedics in this jurisdiction are sanctioned to use their choice of morphine or fentanyl as an analgesic and may also consider administering a sedative agent, such as Versed (midazolam). On this call, members of Cochrane (Alberta) Fire EMS Department provided ALS treatment. Once the patient’s leg was stabilized and morphine was administered, Lt. Russ Innes and station officer Martin Reuter extricated the patient using a Stokes rescue basket. The patient was transported to the Foothills Medical Trauma Center in nearby Calgary.