It's not everyday that you are dispatched to retrieve a person hanging from a tree. Not to mention one that has been entangled since the afternoon prior.
But for Stuart Mill, Carapooee and St Arnaud brigade members, that is exactly what they encountered at Teddington Reservoir camping area on the morning of Thursday, 30 March.
In a multi-agency rescue alongside St Arnaud SES and Fire Rescue Victoria's (FRV) High Angle Rescue speciality teams from Ballarat and Lucas, CFA crews arrived at 11:25am to discover a conscious male hanging by a rope from his feet approximately 3 metres above the ground after having got stuck while climbing a tree.
Deemed a complex rescue from initial reports from CFA Commander Tony Miles, the biggest concern was the probability the patient was suffering from suspension trauma.
"If immediately cut down, there was a strong likelihood he could go into cardiac arrest due to the build up of toxins in his body, much like crush syndrome," he said.
"Fortunately, Ambulance Victoria and HEMS paramedics identified this risk early and were able to start stabilising him as the rescue teams arrived on scene."
As Incident Controller, Commander Miles formed a vehicle staging area in a carpark just 400m from the patient in a remote area of bush, not far from a walking path. Crew members assisted rescue teams with ferrying specialist equipment into the scene and given the patient was time critical, Victoria Police search and rescue squad were mobile in the Police Airwing and an Incident Management Team was established when all teams arrived.
Commander Miles liaised directly with the multiple agency heads on scene and briefed operations to develop a rescue plan with the Sector Commander.
"The rescue was performed quickly and professionally by FRV with assistance from CFA and SES crews," he said.
"However, once the male was removed from the tree, there was still significant work required to get him to the helicopter some 300m away through dense scrub and mud.
"All services provided lifting and carrying capacity to ease the load and make it as smooth as possible for the patient."
The male was lowered and handed over to Ambulance Victoria at 1:14pm, where he was then transported to hospital via HEMS paramedics.
At the conclusion of the event, a debrief was conducted by all services on scene and throughout CFA's individual debrief it was determined they reached the appropriate solution in not critically rushing to cut the patient down.
"The teamwork, open communication and liaison between all services on scene was exceptional," Commander Miles said.
"As a result, the patient was provided with the best possible chance for a good outcome.
"The rescue was unique, in a challenging environment, with challenging conditions, but was a great example of a multi-agency response providing great result to the community."
