Fire, rescue blotter

The Valley Regional Fire Authority

responded to 174 calls for service between Nov. 10 and Nov. 15, among them the following:

NOV. 10

Car crash: 12:40 p.m., Auburn. Responding to the 1500 block of Auburn Way North to a car crash, VRFA personnel came upon two heavily damaged vehicles that had been involved in a “T-bone” type collision with airbag deployment. VRFA personnel treated the injured persons and stopped the cars from leaking fuel.

NOV. 12

Medical aid call: 4 p.m., Algona. Responding to a report of an older man with Parkinson’s disease in need of help, Engine 38 personnel noted that the man was struggling to breathe because of an array of medical complications. After initial treatment, personnel transported the man to Auburn Regional Medical Center.

NOV. 14

House fire: 12:01 p.m., Algona. VRFA units responded to a house fire visible from State Route 167 north of Ellingson Road and found a house with a fire in the garage. Personnel had to break in because nobody was at home and quickly snuffed out the fire. A search of the home revealed that indeed, nobody was at home. The family cat had escaped the conflagration, and the homeowners found it. Investigators were working to determine the cause of the fire, which had confined its damage mostly to the garage.

NOV. 15

Assist child: 4:30 p.m., Auburn. An emotional citizen drove up to Station 31 and alerted firefighters that her granddaughter had been playing with a step stool and somehow managed to get her arm stuck in between the legs. Crews looked in the back seat of the vehicle and found that, yes indeed, the little girl’s arm was stuck in the stool and was hurting her. With some verbal persuasion and a liberal application of liquid dish soap, firefighters removed the arm from the stool without hurting the child. The grandmother and child were very grateful for the assistance.

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