— from Patrick Shepler —
It is with great pride, respect and humility that I write this letter; and also with sadness that such a tragic event occurred. I know our entire department sends their thoughts and prayers.
When a 911 call came in Saturday afternoon, March 22nd for a man who fell about 150 feet from a cliff to a beach, accessible only by boat, responders from Orcas Island Fire & Rescue came from all over the island. They dropped whatever they were doing to help, in a professional and coordinated way that can only be called, “World Class.”
Chief Kevin O’Brien coordinated the Incident from the Fire Station as we mounted multiple plans for gaining access, treating and transporting a trapped and critical member of our community.
In all, 29 Members of Orcas Fire Rescue were involved. Included were Paramedics, Bryce Hamilton, Patrick Shepler, Scott Williams and Dave Zoeller. Bryce was the Medic actually, “on-duty” and was completing an air transport of a patient when this call came in. As soon as possible Bryce completed the transfer and drove to Brandt’s Landing to meet Dmitri Stankevich with the Camp Orkila Boat.
Paramedic, Dave Zoeller provided coverage for any calls which might occur during the incident. Paramedic Scott Williams made his way to the patient from above by hiking down the cliff while Bryce Hamilton, Rita Harvey and other OIFR volunteers responded by water to the scene.
Additional EMTs and firefighters made their way down from above and brought ropes, a Stokes Basket and hauling and safety gear from our Rescue Division.
Chief O’Brien had other assets responding including the Fire Boat Confidence from Friday Harbor and Airlift Northwest from Olympia. Every EMS aircraft in the Region was busy when this incident occurred as a result of multiple transports from the mudslide disaster in Snohomish County.
As two Paramedics, and multiple firefighters and EMTs gained access by both water and the very steep climb down the cliff, O’Brien requested a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from Port Angelus.
The expertise of the U.S. Coast Guard cannot be left out. The pilot skillfully placed their craft on a postage-stamp size of beach. Paramedic Hamilton continued to care for the patient, as our members loaded the patient safely into the orange chopper, hovering on two wheels the whole time.
Care was continued in flight, straight to the landing pad at Harborview Trauma Center in Seattle.
The Coast Guard crew told Bryce they could not believe we were primarily a Volunteer department and compared our team’s skills to those of a major Urban Rescue Team.
With over 30 years of knowledge of what world class EMS and Rescue operations look like, I was proud to be a member of; and humbled by our awesome team.
Orcas Island Fire & Rescue is a valuable resource to our remote location, we are lucky to have such a devoted team for our public safety & quick travel to medical care. Thank you!
I am a neighboring property and was on scene from beginning to end hoping the rescue would result in a positive outcome for my neighbor. It was extremely impressive and touching. Reading Mr. Shepler’s behind-the-scenes account makes it even more so.
Thank you for being there for all us.