Members of the St. Eustatius Fire Department using the Jaws of Life to free a trapped person. (File photo).
ST. EUSTATIUS--Fire personnel on Friday afternoon had to use the “Jaws of Life” to remove a man who was trapped inside his vehicle after an accident on the premises of NuStar Statia Terminal.
The NuStar employee was driving a white bus going downhill when the brakes of the bus failed, and the vehicle crashed. The front of the vehicle was crushed, which caused the man being trapped inside the vehicle. That is why the Fire Department was called to cut him out of the vehicle.
Shift leader at the St. Eustatius Fire Department Ludwig Eugenio said the department received a call at 3:15pm. Six minutes later, firefighters arrived at the scene of the accident and proceeded with taking off the door at the driver’s side of the vehicle to perform a dashboard lift to free the driver’s foot.
Eugenio and three members of the fire department used the jaws of life in carrying out the rescue operation. The NuStar employee was taken out of the vehicle at 3:32pm.
The trapped man was taken to Queen Beatrix Medical Centre and later transferred overseas by a Medivac helicopter for advanced medical treatment.
The Caribbean Netherlands Police Force KPCN was also on the scene of the accident, along with NuStar Terminal’s first responders and ambulance personnel.
Terence Keogh, NuStar Terminals NV Vice President and General Manager Terence Keogh were very appreciative of the quick response of the emergency services.
“I would like to say on behalf of NuStar, that we very much appreciate the quick and professional response from the St. Eustatius Emergency Response Services who responded to this incident. This included the St. Eustatius Fire and Rescue, Ambulance Service supported by the doctors of the Medical Centre, and the St. Eustatius Police Department.”
