Sunday afternoon, units from Stonewall and Gainesville were dispatched for an auto accident involving a motorcycle at Interstate 66 and Lee Highway (Rt. 29). Callers reported a motorcycle struck the side of a passenger vehicle on the on-ramp to I-66 eastbound. As fire and rescue units responded to the dispatched location, additional callers reported the accident at the I-66 and the Rt. 234 Bypass. After checking both intersections, Virginia State Police (VSP) reported the accident at Sudley Road (Rt. 234 Business) and I-66. E511 and E524 arrived on-scene nearly simultaneously, with Medic 504 arriving approximately two minutes later.

The lone patient was the motorcyclist who was thrown approximately 25 feet from the site of the collision. After impact, the patient’s motorcycle continued to travel up the hill along the on-ramp toward I-66. Medical supplies from Engine 511 were immediately used by EMS providers from Enignes 524 and 511 until Medic 504 arrived. After completing a rapid trauma assessment and spinal immobilization, advanced life support (ALS) providers from Medic 504 consulted with an emergency medicine physician at the nearest hospital before determining the patient would be flown to a local trauma center.

Engine 511 contacted PWC dispatchers to request a medevac helicopter. E511 relocated to an open field at a nearby community college campus with their minimum staffing (a fire officer, engine driver, and firefighter), while leaving two medically-trained firefighters on-scene to continue to render patient care. Engine 511’s crew established a 75’-by-75’ landing zone on a grass field adjacent to Sudley Road and the Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas Campus. Helicopter AirCare 1 safely landed shortly after Medic 504 transported the patient to the landing zone. The still conscious patient was rapidly flown to INOVA Fairfax Hospital for definitive medical care.

This wrapped up a busy 34-hour shift for C Crew, with two working structure fires, a HAZMAT, this flyout, in-station fire training, and numerous other EMS calls.