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Minneapolis Firefighter Suffers Minor Injuries in Fall from Roof
May 4 – A Minneapolis firefighter suffered minor injuries after falling from a ladder while checking for extension at a fire early Wednesday morning.
Crews were called to a fire at a used car dealership in the 2600 block of West Broadway around 12:15 a.m.
They found several vehicles burning in the lot when they arrived.
Firefighters contained the fire before it spread to the one-story office building, according to Assistant Chief Dave DeWall.
As firefighters were checking for extension, a firefighter began climbing a ground ladder to the roof of the building when it started to slide down the building.
The firefighter fell about 10 feet and rode the ladder most of the way. Video from WCCO-TV shows the firefighter falling.
He walked to the ambulance and North Memorial EMS crews transported him. He was examined at the hospital and he suffered a few cuts and bruises.
“He did not sustain any injuries that kept him from returning to duty. ” DeWall said. He returned to duty before the shift was over.
Breaking: Several Injured After Truck, Bus Collide in Downtown St. Paul
May 4 – St. Paul fire crews were busy Wednesday morning as they responded to a crash involving a bus and pickup truck as a busy downtown St. Paul intersection.
Just after 9 a.m., firefighters and paramedics were called to the crash at 6th and Cedar Streets.
They arrived to find a truck crushed between a Metro Transit bus and the wall of a parking garage. The driver of the pickup was trapped in the vehicle.
Five medic units were called to the scene and more than a half-dozen victims were transported to area hospitals.
Twin Cities Fire Wire will update this story when more information is available.
Car Rolls Into Pond, Traps Driver in St. Paul
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
This story was updated on Friday morning.
April 28 – Emergency crews worked to free an occupant who was trapped after his car rolled into a retaining pond along Interstate 280 in St. Paul on Thursday evening.
St. Paul fire crews were called to Interstate 280 at Energy Park Drive for a call that rolled over into a pond at 9:20 p.m. As fire crews went enroute, they were advised that the driver was trapped.
Engine 23 arrived to find the vehicle on its roof in several feet of water along the exit ramp from Northbound 280 onto Energy Park Drive. Police officers from St. Paul, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Patrol were on scene as well and, at this time, it is unknown who freed the driver.
Firefighters packaged the man and he was transported by Medic 14 to an area hospital in serious condition. Other crews checked the water, which was waist deep in some areas, for any other occupants. Officers searched the surrounding areas as well.
Using Squad 2’s winch, the vehicle was rolled on its wheels and firefighters checked the water and vehicle for additional occupants.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the 32-year-old driver exited 280 for Energy Park Drive “at highway speeds” and rolled into the pond when he over corrected.
Assignment: Engine 23, Ladder 20, Squad 2, Medic 14, Chief 1
One Trapped in Andover Crash
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
April 7 – One person was freed from a motor vehicle crash in Andover on Thursday morning.
About 7:30 a.m. crews were called to Andover Boulevard and Bluebird Street for a two vehicle accident.
Firefighters extricated one occupant from the minivan.
Allina EMS transported two patients to an area hospital.
Minnesota State Patrol Car Struck on Interstate 94
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
April 2 – Minneapolis firefighters extricated a man after his vehicle rear-ended a Minnesota State Patrol car that was at a traffic stop along Interstate 94 in Minneapolis on Saturday evening.
Around 8 p.m. Engine 20 and Ladder 10 were called to Interstate 94 near 49th Avenue for a vehicle accident requiring extrication. As they left the station, they received updates that a Minnesota State Patrol officer was involved in the crash.
The State Patrol officer was on a traffic stop on Eastbound 94 just south of 49th Avenue when a SUV rear-ended the vehicle. The State Patrol vehicle was pushed forward into the vehicle it had stopped. The striking vehicle went up on the shoulder where the driver was trapped.
The crews from Engine 20 and Ladder 10 extricated the SUV driver, by removing the driver’s door, in about 10 minutes.
The officer and driver of the SUV were both transported to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.
2 Seriously Injured in Coon Rapids Crash
March 26 – Coon Rapids firefighters worked for an extended period of time to free several trapped occupants after a head-on crash on Main Street on Saturday evening.
Emergency crews were called to the 400 block of Main Street for a motor vehicle accident around 4:30 p.m. Two vehicles collided head-on on the driver’s side.
The first vehicle was occupied by a male driver. The second vehicle, driven by a male, had a female passenger and a female  juvenile in the back.
The impact of the crash pinned both drivers and the juvenile occupant in the back seat of the second car.
“We worked for 45 minutes to free the victims,” acting Captain Chuck Fleury told Twin Cities Fire Wire. “We had to use all of our extrication equipment that we carry.”
The firefighters used their ram tools to push the front of the car off both drivers. Fluery said they also used chains and other tools to pull the crushed vehicle off the juvenile who was trapped in the rear of the car.
Allina EMS crews stabilized the victims and called for two medical helicopters. Lifelink and North Memorial Air Care landed near the scene and transported the male drivers, who were in critical condition.
 The two females were transported by ground crews.
- Assignment: Coon Rapids Rescues 1, 2 and 3, Allina EMS, Lifelink and North Memorial Air Care
Crash Leaves Two Dead in Randolph
March 15 – Emergency crews were called to the scene of a tragic crash in Randolph Township around noon on Tuesday.
Randolph-Hampton Fire was dispatched to Randolph Boulevard (Highway 56) near 284th Street about 12:10 p.m. for a two vehicle accident involving a tractor-trailer.
As units went enroute, Empire dispatch updated that two victims were in critical condition and that the car had extensive damage following the impact with the tractor-trailer. Chief 1 requested a medevac while he was still responding.
Crews operated on the scene to extricate the occupants of the car, but no other details are available.
The Minnesota State Patrol reports that the car crossed the median and collided head-on with the tractor-trailer.
Local media reports that the victims were father and son.
Click here for KSTP-TV’s helicopter video.
- Assignment: Randolph-Hampton Engine 1, Rescues 1 and 2 and Chief 1
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