HomeMy WebLinkAbout1975 08-26 DeCorsey's rescue "weighty" problem REVIEW DeCorsey 's rescue
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by Scott Carlson t`1 r . Qt�, 1 1 1
Michael DeCorsey, 1690 Jessie being operated by Gladstone
st., was busy cleaning out debris fireman, Wayne Lindahl.
from his attic at about 3:15 p.m. The bucket swung over the entire
August 18.As he backed up his foot house before it was lowered with
suddenly slipped off a joist. DeCorsey placed in the paramedic
Crraasshh!! DeCorsey, 25,. van and rushed to St.Paul Ramsey
stepped through the ceiling but Hospital.
luckily was able to pull his left hip The entire rescue operation took
up and lie on his right side on the nearly an hour and Skallman at-
joist. tributed that fact to DeCorsey's
What happened next to DeCorsey size.
then became the problem of "With a young kid we could have
Maplewood police paramedics Don had him shuffled out in no time,"
Skallman and Robert Vorwerk, Skallman said. ". . . But the guy's
Police Chief Dick Schaller and size complicated the whole thing."
several local firemen.The 6'4",268 As in all operations, the
pound DeCorsey suffered ex- paramedic must have several
cruciating pain from his broken hip rescue plans in case one fails.
and could not move. "We thought at one point we could
The rescuers had to match their put him in a basket and use ropes
wits with a six by four and one-half and pulleys to get him out,"
foot attic that didn't seem to be bent Skallman said, "but it would have
on giving DeCorsey up. been tough on his hip injury."
"The toughest thing was his hip Then it was quickly decided that
injury," Skallman said. "The in- the snorkel was needed.
tense pain of the injury and then a Skallman said, "As far as a
guy of this size complicated the rescue goes it was probably the
whole thing." most complicated one I've been
The only way to enter the attic involved with.
from the outside was through a . . . It's so unusual that there is
three by three and a half foot wide no training for it,"Skallman added.
window.
"Once we had examined him we ,
had to keep the personnel to a
minimum because of the close
quarters," Skallman said.
Skallman,Vorwerk and three other £-°`
men were in the tiny attic in the
rescue operation.
The men had concerns for their
own safety because they could not
be sure if the rafters would give ' ' °
way. Because of a previous fire to Itt
the house the roof had been
replaced but not the rafters. ,•
Once it became obvious that
rescuing DeCorsey would be no ,
ordinary emergency the group had
to call in the Gladstone depart
ment's fire truck,which is equipped
with a snorkel, a small three by
three foot bucket.
DeCorsey was lifted on a back-
board,sent through the window and
strapped down on the bucket,which Don Skallman