Special equipment in action

On July 22, the Lincoln County Dispatch team received a report of a 75-year-old male who had been injured near Pacific Lake outside of Odessa. The individual wrecked a motorcycle and injured his ankle/foot and was unable to get himself out of the area.

The victim was injured and out of water. However, his exact location was unknown. He had very poor cell service, but luckily it was enough to allow him to report his injury and general location. Deputy McLagan responded with the Sheriff’s Dept. flatbed trailer and pickup to a trail head near Pacific Lake.

Law enforcement personnel coordinated with two Odessa EMTs who jumped into action to lend aid to the injured party. The side-by-side vehicle referred to as “Gator One” was deployed, loaded with the EMTs and their gear and went off road into the area the reporting party described. The subject’s son had arrived from Moses Lake and provided locations where his father might be.

Emergency responders located the injured party and provided much needed water and medical aid. The victim was transported out of the area safely, and responders were also able to get the motorcycle out for the victim and family as well.

Last week, Marine One was being operated by Deputy McLagan when deputies apprehended a vessel and occupants who had been lighting fireworks and recklessly caused a 3,000-acre fire on the shore of Lake Roosevelt across from the Lincoln boat launch. Marine One was in the area and located the suspects responsible for the fire thanks to a fantastic witness from Lincoln County. A report has been completed and forwarded to investigators from the Colville Tribe, as well as federal authorities.

These are two recent examples of Marine One and Gator One being deployed to area incidents. Both of these valuable pieces of equipment were purchased through grants and not paid for directly out of local current expense dollars. Both are needed emergency response vehicles that have special-use deployment needs and have paid off during back-to-back weeks. We should also mention the F250 crew-cab pickup that pulls Marine One and Gator One is also purchased from a grant award.

Great job to our emergency responders and dispatch team and a special accolades to our star witness on the reckless burning case. He was fantastic with his observations and detail in reporting the incident involving the huge wild land fire.