Rescue Operations
This afternoon, at about 2:49, our 911 dispatch received a call from a man, stating he and a woman had been attacked by a swarm of bees. The 66 year old female is allergic to bee stings and became symptomatic indicating an allergic reaction. The male was able to make contact with dispatch, and gave a general description where they were located. They had been at a Yoga retreat located on Colorado Gulch road, which is south west of Helena Montana. They were on a trail on a side of a mountain toward the south end of Colorado Gulch. The 911 dispatch recorded the GPS coordinates and kept them on the phone.
St. Peter’s Ambulance, Baxendale Volunteer Fire Rescue, Lewis and Clark County Sheriffs Office, Sergeant and deputies, United States Forest Service Law Enforcement, Montana Highway Patrol were dispatched to respond.
Sergeant Weiss was the first to arrive in the area. The rugged, mountainous terrain concealed the victim’s location. He called 911 and the dispatcher located his position and helped him walk into the victim’s location. A nearby road was Brook Trout Road, but it wasn’t close. The victim’s breathing was now labored and she was unable to walk. The aforementioned responders were able to walk into the location.
This is a great example of how emergency services work, all cooperating together for the good of the patient. The victim was loaded onto a stokes basket and carried to the ambulance. St. Peter’s medics gave great care along with all the first responders.
The picture is the patient being carried to the ambulance. Photo credit is USFS Nick Scholz. How he did this, I have no idea, because he is in the picture.
Sheriff/Coroner Leo C. Dutton
Well done, all of you!
