The Valley Regional Fire Authority responded to 156 calls for service between Feb. 9 and Feb. 16, among them the following:
Feb. 9
Car crash: 9:30 a.m., (Lea Hill). Engine 34, Aid 31, Medic 6, and Battalion 31 responded to a motor vehicle collision at the 11400 block of Southeast 284th Street and found a single car that had driven off the winding roadway and stopped after striking a tree. The car hit hard enough to deploy the airbags. The driver got out, but firefighters had to extricate his 65-year-old female passenger. Medics provided care for all injuries. Medic 6 transported the woman to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Feb. 11
Medical aid: 4 p.m., (Auburn). Valley Com dispatched firefighters to a report of a man stumbling in the parking lot near the Sound Transit bus station. Witnesses had seen the man downing a handful of pills on the bus. Firefighters quickly assessed the mental status of the individual and determined that he had taken an overdose of anti-anxiety medications. An ambulance transported him to Auburn Regional Medical Center.
Truck vs. Bicycle: 4 p.m., (Auburn). Valley Com dispatched VRFA personnel to the 1400 block of 30th Street Southeast for a reported car-bicycle collsion. Engine 32 and Aid 32 treated a man lying on the sidewalk who said that a car had hit him while he was riding his bike. VRFA personnel assessed the injuries and arranged for an ambulance to take him to the hospital.
Feb. 12
Commercial fire: 3:43 p.m., (Auburn). Personnel responded to a 911 report of smoke and flames inside of a commercial building at 2220 Auburn Way North. Aid 31 personnel were the first to arrive and saw only light smoke in the structure. Workers reported that they had been doing maintenance in and around the duct work for the exhaust system on the paint spray booth when they noticed a small fire. They grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and put the fire out. Engine 31 used ventilation fans to remove the smoke from the structure and air monitoring equipment to ensure the building was safe before allowing employees back in. The fire was an accident.
Feb. 14
Car crash: 3 p.m., (Auburn). Responding to a report of a one-car roll-over accident, VRFA personnel found a severely damaged vehicle perched on its roof in knee deep water. They found the driver, a woman in her twenties, suspended upside down in her seat by her seatbelt, the top of her head partially submerged. VRFA personnel forced entry into the vehicle and stabilized the woman as they removed her seatbelt. An ambulance transported her to a local hospital in stable condition.
Feb. 15
Dryer fire: 7:32 p.m., (Pacific). Valley Com dispatched Engine 38 to Cobble Court apartments at the 300 block of Pacific Ave North in Pacific for a reported dryer fire. Firefighters followed the slight haze of smoke in the apartment to a pile of clothing smoldering in a bath tub. The occupant had noticed the fire, pulled all the burning material out of the dryer and thrown it into the tub where it was mostly extinguished. Engine 38 checked to see if the fire had spread and took the smoldering clothing outside.
Feb. 16
Car/motorcycle crash: 2:55 p.m., Auburn. Valley Com dispatched personnel to a report of a car-motorcycle collision in the 4700 block of Auburn Way North. The man on the motorcycle had been thrown some 50 feet into the southbound lanes. VRFA personnel stabilized him, treated his injuries, and arranged for his transport to ARMC with non-life threatening, but significant injuries. The motorcyclist’s helmet showed significant evidence that it had prevented what could have been a serious or fatal head injury.
