Darwen

At 13.44hrs this sunny afternoon, the team was contacted via SARCALL by NWAS (Lancashire) Broughton EOC AirDesk, requesting the teams assistance with the report of a collapsed hill walker near to Jubilee (Darwen) Tower, on Darwen Moor.

Our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE answered the call, whilst other members including our Deputy Team Leader Chris Greenhalgh – who lives close to our Base / HQ, started responding to our three team vehicle garage locations to collect team vehicles should they be required.

With more information gathered, a full team pager call out was made at 13.56hrs requesting all responding team member meet at Roddlesworth Information Centre.

The 49 year old male walker, from Darwen, had collapsed in the company of his partner, resulting in a 999 call to NWAS.

The North West Air Ambulance Helimed 08 from Blackpool Airport, was also called by NWAS EOC, and arrived overhead, then landing nearby to the casualty site just before 14.00hrs.

The Helimed Aircrew Paramedics then walked to the casualty site to commence immediate casualty care, placing the collapsed male on to a scoop stretcher.

Responding team members, principally in our four Land Rover Ambulances, were sent to different access points on to the moor, as the exact casualty location took time to establish.

Team members in two of our Land Rovers which had accessed the tracks on the flanks of Darwen Moor, from Belgrave and Sunnyhurst, to get as close as possible to the casualty site, met up with the Helimed crew on scene at 14.28hrs.

The crew members, totalling eight, from our Bolton Mobiles 1 and 2 Land Rovers, working with the Helimed crew, carried the casualty across the moorland slopes on a mountain rescue stretcher, to the waiting Air Ambulance helicopter, which departed at 14.53hrs for Royal Blackburn Hospital.

At this stage, other team members in our Bolton Mobiles 3 and 4 Land Rovers, and one team member on foot, were also en route to the casualty site, and were all stood down, as were three other members at Roddlesworth Information Centre car park.

The following resources were involved in this incident:

• NWAS (Cumbria and Lancashire)
  • Broughton EOC Air Desk despatcher
    • 1x Emergency Ambulance (2x crew) on hold at the Sunnyhurst Inn, Darwen, should it be required, stood down.
• North West Air Ambulance
  • Helimed 08 from Blackpool Airport, Pilot / Captain Neil Airey (a great friend of the team and former Duddon and Furness MRT team member) and two Aircrew Paramedics.
• Bolton Mountain Rescue Team
  • 22x Team call out list members responded in total, with eight being involved directly at the casualty site, and others en route to the casualty site or on hold at the Roddlesworth Information Centre car park RVP.

The team would like to thank the many local walkers and hill walkers at Roddlesworth, Belgrave, Sunnyhurst and on Darwen Moor who wished us well, and apologies to those we didn’t get chance to talk too at points when we were a little busy with the conduct of this incident.

At 12:12 today the team was contacted by the North West Ambulance Service (Lancashire) to assist with an incident where a lady had slipped on ice.

The 64 year old lady had been walking with family members descending the track from Darwen (Jubilee) Tower where she had slipped on ice suffering a suspected ankle fracture. The party were able to give an accurate grid reference to the ambulance control centre which assisted in our team being able to access her location quickly.

First on scene was Paul Brain who was able to direct the Land Rover ambulance with more members to the casualty site, and provide some protection from the cold weather with a shelter.

After stabilising the casualties ankle with a vacuum splint and administering pain killing gas, the casualty was transferred to a mountain rescue stretcher and carefully carried down the icy path to the main road by the Sunnyhurst Inn.

Here the casualty was transferred into the back of our BM3 Land Rover ambulance where she was transported to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

In total 17 full Team Call Out members attended this incident with 3 team vehicles., and one friend of the team, Maggie Allred.

We would like to thank the family of the casualty and other passing walkers who stayed on the hill helping to keep the casualty comfortable, and for other walkers who helped to guide our mountain rescue resources to the casualty location.

We would like to wish the lady a speedy recovery back to walking the hills of Darwen.

Incident 84. Sunday 28th September 2014. Search and rescue for two injured persons on the moorland slopes below Darwen Tower.

At circa 03.29hrs this morning a couple out walking in the vicinity of Darwen (Jubilee) Tower, contacted Police via 999 to report that one of the two had slipped and rolled down the hillside, on the moorland slopes beneath the Tower, and that they were uncertain of their exact location on the heather clad slopes.

Shortly after despatching a Police patrol to the area of the Sunnyhurst Inn, Darwen, Police passed what details were known to NWAS (Lancashire) EOC.

A Police helicopter from NPAS (National Police Air Service) was also tasked by Lancashire Constabulary, to commence a search of the Darwen Tower area to locate the couple.

At 03.56hrs, NWAS EOC paged the team for our immediate assistance, the call being answered by our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE.

What facts were known were quickly ascertained, and with members already mobilising to our vehicle locations, a full team pager call out was made at 04.08hrs, for members to meet at all three of our strategically placed team vehicle locations, and to make their way to the Emergency vehicles RVP at the car park entrance to Sunnyhurst Wood, just beyond the Sunnyhurst Inn, high above Darwen, and below Darwen Tower.

By 04.30hrs four of our five responding team vehicles had gone mobile, with our fifth mobile at 04.40hrs.

Prior to this NPAS 23, had commenced its search, two Police Officers were deploying on foot, and at circa 04.24hrs, our first two team members, Steve Nelson and Elaine Gilliland had already arrived at the RVP.

By the time our first team vehicle arrived at the RVP at 04.38hrs, guided by the ‘NiteSun’ aircraft searchlight of the Police helicopter NPAS 23, on the ground two Police Officers had located the man and woman, reporting that the man had back injuries.

Team members Elaine and Steve Nelson then went in a Police BMW X5 followed by our BM3 Land Rover with our Deputy Team Leader Chris Greenhalgh and Steve Fletcher, plus the NWAS Emergency Ambulance crew on board, to try to better access the now known casualty site via the myriad of hillside Land Rover accessible tracks.

Not able to do this initially, Elaine and Steve Nelson set off up the hillside on foot, guided by the still on scene helicopter and its fantastic ‘NiteSun’ searchlight, whilst BM3 with its crew and NWAS crew on board went an alternative way on to the moor.

At 04.45hrs our former Deputy Team Leader Geoff Seddon, having accessed the moorland tracks in his 4WD vehicle, and collected two further Police Officers en route, had walked down to the casualty site from where he parked up his vehicle.

With four Police Officers on scene, and Geoff, it was established that the 35 years old male had sustained suspected C spine, back and abdominal and leg injuries, plus a head injury.

By 04.49hrs three other team vehicles were present at the RVP, and a search and rescue control to co-ordinate the incident was established in our Incident Control Vehicle.

Team members were then deployed by Team Land Rovers to Darwen Tower, where on foot they then descended the heather clad moorland slopes to the casualty site, along with a mountain rescue stretcher, splints and other essential equipment.

With NWAS, Police and team members now at the casualty site, evacuation options were looked at, with the decision being made because of the man’s injuries, to stretcher evacuate him back down to the Sunnyhurst Inn / Sunnyhurst Wood car park RVP.

As this was all happening, the injured man’s 26 year old companion suffered a worsening of a pre existing medical condition, and also stated she had an ankle injury.

With the stretcher evacuation in progress, the woman was walked along the moorland slope and to a team vehicle, which then descended with her to the RVP.

At 06.10hrs, the injured man was at the RVP and placed in to the responding NWAS Ambulance for further assessment.

By 06.18hrs the woman was also at the RVP, where her now worsening condition, led to her being immediately transported in our Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulance BM2, directly to Blackburn Hospital as an emergency admission.

The injured male was then taken by NWAS Ambulance to Preston Hospital.

All was not over for us, as during the rescue, one of our Land Rovers – BM3, had run a wheel in to a ditch as part of the narrow track had collapsed it was travelling on.

With the assistance of our BM1 Land Rover and its winch, BM3 was quickly recovered back on to the track, and by 08.15hrs all MRT and Police personnel were off the moor and at the RVP.

With refreshments served from our BM6 Incident Control Vehicle, and incident information collated, all left the RVP by 08.36hrs.

The following resources were involved in this incident:

• Lancashire Constabulary
  • Force Control Room
  • five Police Officers in four vehicles, all from Blackburn Division.
• National Police Air Service
  • Helicopter NPAS 23, based at BAE Systems Warton.
• North West Ambulance Service (Lancashire)
  • NWAS Broughton EOC
  • one NWAS Emergency Ambulance from Accrington ambulance Station, one Paramedic and one Emergency Medical Technician on board.
• Bolton Mountain Rescue Team
  • 19 team Call Out list members present on scene
  • four Team Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulance vehicles, and our Incident Control Vehicle.
• SARDA Wales
  • Mountain Rescue Trailing Search Dog team, handler Steve Nelson and navigator Elaine Gilliland, both of Bolton MRT and included in the above figures
  • Trailing Search Dog Boris (Boris was not deployed on this incident)

This was a co-ordinated multi agency response to locate and then treat both persons who first reported themselves unaware of their exact location and injured, in the early hours of the morning having gone to the Tower to view the night time (well early morning) lights of Darwen.

Finally we would like to thank all the passing (very) early morning dog walkers, ramblers and mountain bikers, who enquired of our presence and then wished the team well and gave their thanks for what we had done.