By Times Chronicle Staff
A Willowbrook firefighter assisted in aiding two seniors trapped in a vehicle in the Boundary region last week.
Willowbrook Fire Chief Tony Iannella said one of their members, Graham Allen, was hunting in the area when he heard a “bang” on Christian Valley Road (along the Kettle River). He subsequently went to investigate and came across a truck with two seniors trapped inside. Allen and some others he was with extricated the couple and warmed them up, Iannella said.
“Neither had serious injuries but things could have been far worse if the guys weren’t nearby to help,” the chief said. Reportedly, at least two other vehicles had driven by without stopping before Allen and the others found them, Iannella said.
The original report was released by Midway Fire Rescue who said their post was not meant to shame anyone but to raise awareness about ways to assist in a motor vehicle accident.
“Not to shame or suggest that the persons that drove by did anything wrong. Everybody has their own comfort level when coming upon these types of situations,” the fire department said.
The post described the Nov. 19 incident in which rescue crews, paramedics and RCMP were called to a location up Christian Valley Road for a report of a motor vehicle incident that involved a rollover into the ditch.
Fortunately the two occupants were relatively uninjured, but the fact they reported two different vehicles had driven by while they were trapped was shocking, the department said.
They reported that two volunteer firefighters, one from Willowbrook and the other from Okanagan Falls happened to be in the area.
They had to use an axe to cut out the windshield and were able to assist the two occupants out of the vehicle. “Without their assistance they would not have been able to exit the vehicle on their own.”
Additional people showed up and were able to put the vehicle on its wheels and remove it from the road.
The fire department said it is understandable that many people may hesitate and could be unsure of what to do when they come upon an accident . . . it may not be something they are ready to deal with because they don’t have the training.
They hoped that the people who did drive by without stopping tried to call 911 to have responders check out the incident.
“Please understand that the sooner that emergency crews are advised of an incident, the sooner they can be there to help. Please do not drive past an incident without initiating a response, whether it is personally or by calling 911,” the department said.
Contributed photo
