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SALEM, CT - On Wednesday morning May 25, 2005 the Gardner Lake Volunteer Fire Company and the Salem Volunteer Fire Company were dispatched by KX dispatch to a reported truck rollover with entrapment unknown extent of injuries at the intersections of Route 82 and Route 354 in the Town of Salem CT. Salem Fire Captain Dave Musto (C-321) and Gardnre Lake Assistant Chief Albert Musto (C-227) were the first initial units on scene. The call actually ended up just over the Montville/Salem Town Line in the Town of Montville, CT. Subsequently the Oakdale Volunteer Fire Department and the Montville Volunteer Fire Departments were also requested as well as Medic 55 which is Paramedic Unit from the Mohegan Tribal Fire Department.

Salem Fire Captain Dave Musto relayed information to KX dispatch that he had a large truck rollover that was going to require a prolonged extrication. The first arriving Heavy Rescue from Gardner Lake R-127 initiated the extrication process until other arriving units from the Oakdale and Montville Departments arrived on scene. As it turned out every piece of extrication equipment from HURST Tools to Airbags would be required off of every rescue truck to complete this extrication.

Fire Chief Gary Murphy of the Oakdale Fire Department arrived on scene shortly after R-127 and assumed Command as it was in his departments district. LifeStar Helicopter was requested but wasn't flying due to mechanical problems. Initially rescuers could only see the tips of the drivers left fingers and the top of his head, which made assessing his injuries very difficult. The driver was able to tell EMS personnel that he had lost feelings in his legs and that he was having a little difficulty in breathing as well as that he didn't remember the accident and probably passed out during the initial crash.

As time elapsed into the incident, rescuers decided to request a heavy duty wrecker with a boom crane to assist in the extrication. The heavy duty wrecker was requested from NORTHEAST Towing and received a police escort to the scene from the Montville Police Department. Once on scene the crane was used to help stabilize the vehicle so that low pressure airbags as well as hydraulic RAMS were used to raise the cab of the vehicle to gain access to the patient. The driver's side door also was removed to help gain access to the victim. During the extrication process the driver of the vehicle went unresponsive fof approximately 15-20 minutes which made the situation a little more tense than it already was.

At 0759 hrs the patient was finally freed from the vehicle (1 hr and 47 minutes of extrication was required.) The patient was placed onto a backboard and placed into c-collar for spinal immobilization and placed into Gardner Lake Ambulance R-527 for transport to William W. Backus Hospital which is the areas only Level II Trauma Center. ALS care was initiated during transport by medic and the patient remained conscious the whole time during transport with a GCS of 15 to the hospital. Patients injuries turned out to be non-life threatening, the worst of his injuries was a moderate avulsion/laceration to the left hand which required stitches in the ER.