In a display of exceptional teamwork and quick thinking, emergency personnel from multiple agencies converged to rescue an individual whose vehicle had careened off the road and down a steep embankment in the area of Calistoga RD and Gates RD on August 18th, 2023 at around 4:05 PM. The victim, who sustained moderate injuries, found themselves approximately 100 feet off the roadway and ensnared within the ravine. Time was of utmost essence in expeditiously extricating this individual and providing much-needed medical attention.
Upon being dispatched by REDCOM, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Henry-One air patrol swiftly responded to the scene, arriving within a mere five minutes. Fire and medical personnel from the Sonoma County Fire District, the Santa Rosa Fire Department, and AMR would also come forth to support the rescue.
Once fire personnel had located the victim, they began to set up a low angle rope system to navigate this treacherous terrain. Recognizing the exigencies of this precarious situation, the Henry-One crew coordinated with the incident commander to determine the safest and most efficient way to approach the scene. It was agreed upon that a long line rescue would be their best course of action, being that it would allow a paramedic to attend to the patient quickly and accommodate the need to extract the victim from the ravine.
Considering the dense foliage and the multitude of large trees in the surrounding area, Henry-One was configured with a 200-foot long line. In this instance, the Henry-One crew was able to fly the Tactical Flight Officer, an EMT, and a Sheriff's Office Paramedic straight to the patient using their specialized equipment.
Upon making contact with the victim, the paramedic assessed their injuries and swiftly packaged them into a Traverse Rescue Stretcher.
Once securely in the ambulance, the victim was transported to a local trauma hospital where they received the appropriate care for their injuries.
