A MAN’S LIFE IN DANGER
A former Marine, Ian Six was part of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) rescue team that was called to a metal scrap yard where a man had slipped on a conveyor belt and entrapped his leg between the gears. He recalls the scene of the incident:
“When I arrived, multiple fire agencies were onsite. The teams couldn’t tell if it was a nick or cut in the artery; or if the leg was being held together by the gears, preventing the man from bleeding to death. We also couldn’t see how bad the leg was harmed as a whole. Regardless, I saw blood start to drip through so we needed to move quickly, but no further extrication of the patient could be done until a proper tourniquet placement was obtained.
To do this, I climbed up and tried to use a standard CAT Tourniquet my rescue team stocks in our vehicle. I was able to get the strap through once, but couldn’t get it back through the second loop to secure proper tension to stop the bleeding.
I asked my partner to grab my personal bag where I carry the SAM XT. We fished it through the gearing, got it high in the hip pocket, and clicked it right into place without having to go through a second time. In a matter of seconds, we were able to control the bleeding and pull the man out safely.”
