The Fort George Highway Rescue Department (FGHR) was called out to a multi-vehicle crash north of Prince George on Wednesday. According to FGHR chief Keith Laboucan, the incident was non-fatal but one victim was trapped inside a vehicle, so their specialist services was called for by the RCMP and BC Ambulance Service personnel on-scene.
"A red Chevrolet Blazer rolled onto its side trapping one patient in the vehicle," said Laboucan. "It was an elderly gentleman and the vehicle was in such a position that he couldn't get out. He was the only occupant. The patient was somehow out of the vehicle once we got to the scene."
The position of the initial vehicle's crash caused other vehicles on Highway 97 North to collide as well, but Laboucan said no serious injuries resulted and their extrication skills were not needed for any of the others involved in the incident.
The site of the motor vehicle incident was 60 kilometres north of the city, on the north side of Talus Road. While en route, the FGHR volunteers were initially puzzled.
"As we passed through Salmon Valley the roads were just fine, considering it is winter, but once you passed about Mitchell Road they started to get worse and worse, and driving conditions were quite deteriorated by the time we got to the scene," said Laboucan.
He and two others from the FGHR corps attended to this call in one of their rescue trucks.
The FGHR is a team of trained volunteers centred in Prince George.
They are called to vehicle incidents of all kinds when rescue is required in areas of the regional district that are not covered by any of the existing fire departments sanctioned to do patient extrication from vehicles. Calls the FGHR department attends to are therefore often in remote areas and/or of an extreme nature.
