BETHALTO - A 30-year-old man was brought to the Bethalto Police Department by a friend Tuesday morning after he suffered a serious injury to his arm from a chainsaw malfunctioning while trimming trees in Holiday Shores.
The man arrived at the police station at 9:30 a.m. and the injury was serious enough that EMS with Bethalto Volunteer Fire Department requested ARCH Air Medical Service to provide helicopter support.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
"ARCH landed at Village Park to the East of Bethalto Fire Department," Bethalto Police said in a statement. "Due to first aid, quick EMS, and prompt response by ARCH the injury is not expected to be life threatening."
Bethalto Mayor Alan Winslow said Tim Brown, an assistant fire chief, made the first assessment of the injured man and a decision to ARCH him to St. Louis.
Winslow commended both the fire and police departments for their quick actions and help in the matter. He said he heard the police chief actually helped direct the ARCH helicopter down.
“ARCH landed in the green space next to Village Hall where there are no overhead lines,” Winslow said. “It worked out very well and it was a good place for them. Otherwise, we would have had to taken him where the helicopter could land.”
Winslow said the all-volunteer fire department force trains several times a month with all sorts of different scenarios.
“I think they are prepared for just about anything that could happen,” he said.
Winslow said it was a 5-minute drive for them to come from where they were in Holiday Shores to Bethalto, rather than calling 911. He guessed in their state of emergency, the Bethalto Police Station was a place they thought first responders would be at that time of day.
More like this:
