July 13—Seattle Firefighters worked for an hour to free a 49-year-old driver trapped inside his crushed SUV. At 8:35 p.m., firefighters were called to the corner of Eastlake Avenue East and East Galer Street for a report of an SUV that slammed into a power pole.

Seattle Police officers arrived first to find the man conscious and talking but trapped inside the driver seat. The SUV was leaking a large amount of fuel so firefighters sprayed the area with a dry chemical to prevent it from igniting. Firefighters with a fully charged hose line was standing by in case the fuel ignited.

Using heavy rescue tools, firefighters spent an hour peeling away the parts of the car that encased the driver. Fire crews had to saw off the roof of the truck, take out the dashboard, and remove the steering column to free the man. He was also trapped by his emergency brake.

Paramedics started an IV and were able to communicate with the patient during the entire extrication process. Once the man was freed, paramedics transported him to Harborview Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

REPOST – Courtesy of Seattle Fire Department (FireLine)