A new procedure put into place after firefighters came to the aid of a bystander who suffered a cardiac arrest while watching efforts at a Jan. 2 fire in Millville may have saved the life of a Rehoboth firefighter.
The Jan. 2 incident, in which the bystander was successfully treated, led Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tom Moore to mandate that the Bethany company’s Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) carry as part of its equipment not only what is normally included for a possible rescue of fellow firefighters but also the company’s medical bag and automatic electronic defibrillator (AED).
Thus it happened that when the company responded to assist Rehoboth Beach firefighters with a fire on Dutch Street in Dewey Beach at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16, the Quint 70 RIT crew had the equipment necessary to help one of their own.
According to BBVFD Public Information Officer Bob Minutoli, Sgt. Jason Hudson and firefighters Dave Hammer and Anthony Donofrio were on duty at the company’s Bethany Beach headquarters on Saturday when the call came in for the Dewey Beach fire. Lt. Micky Wisseman and his wife had also just arrived at the station to set up a birthday party for one of their children, Minutoli said.
“With Wisseman driving and Hudson in command, Quint 70 was enroute immediately,” Minutoli noted. “They arrived at the fire scene and assumed their assigned responsibilities as the Rapid Intervention Team, or RIT, and set up their equipment. The duties of the RIT are simply. If necessary, rescue the rescuers,” he explained.
And the team also followed the new procedure of taking with them the medical bag and AED. “The new procedure soon proved invaluable,” Minutoli said.
While Hudson was assisting with a hose line, Donofrio observed the driver of Rehoboth Beach Engine 86-9, Walter Brittingham, fall to the ground. He alerted Wisseman, who issued a “man down” message. Hammer, who is a Sussex County paramedic; Wisseman, a Millville and Mid-Sussex emergency medical technician; and Donofrio, who just completed the EMT course, rushed to the fallen firefighter and detected neither pulse nor respiration, Minutoli said.
Following procedures, they administered CPR and connected him to the AED, which advised defibrillation. The shock restored his heartbeat and breathing, and Brittingham was transported to Beebe Medical Center by Ambulance 86. As of Sunday afternoon, Brittingham was up and talking, Minutoli reported.
While the Quint 70 crew was attending to their fallen comrade, Engine 70-2 — under the command of firefighter Hunter Holland and including driver-firefighter Michael Wilgus and firefighters Brian Reed and Travis Hickman — took over as the RIT team.
Rehoboth Chief Bryon Burton called Moore to express his thanks and those of his company for the quick and decisive actions of the Quint 70 crew, Minutoli said.
Moore said, “The positive outcome of this incident reflects great credit on the firefighters involved in this save. It also shows the great strides we are making in delivering the best possible emergency service to our community.
“First, three of these men have EMT and/or paramedic training and the fourth is a first-responder. Second, our duty crew program had volunteers on duty who were out within a minute of the call and on a scene 10 miles away minutes after that,” he added.
“Lastly, the critiques we do of all major incidents resulted in a procedure change that had the crew well prepared to respond to dire needs of a comrade.”
The Bethany company is currently in the midst of a push to arrange funding for its own ambulance service from towns and property owners within their fire district, which runs from the Indian River Inlet south to Fenwick Island. The Millville Volunteer Fire Department has notified the district that it plans to discontinue service to the Bethany district as of January 2009.
Bethany firefighters plan to take over from the Millville ambulance crew, if funding for the equipment and other expenses can be covered in time to get up and running by January. The company has been in talks with officials in Bethany Beach, South Bethany and Fenwick Island, as well as the Sea Colony homeowners group, concerning a possible tax or other levy that would provide the base funding for the service.