LEBANON, Ore. – Lebanon Fire District responded to multiple emergencies at the same time Tuesday evening, stretching all available crews and equipment across the area.
The busy period started around 4 p.m. when a Lebanon Fire District ambulance transferred a patient from a hospital in Lebanon to one in Corvallis. While that ambulance was out of the district, firefighters responded to an odor investigation on Island Inn Drive and three separate medical emergencies. With all Lebanon ambulances committed, the Albany Fire Department responded under mutual aid and transported one patient to the hospital.
Around 5:45 p.m., crews were called to a water rescue after a woman floating the South Santiam River on an inner tube was reported significantly overdue for arriving at Gill’s Landing. The call required all available Lebanon Fire District equipment, career personnel and volunteer firefighters.
Firefighters launched the district’s drone to search the river from the air while another team deployed a rescue raft upstream to search the waterway. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office responded with its rescue watercraft, personnel and drone to help with the search.
While the water rescue was underway, Lebanon Fire District received an emergent interfacility transfer to Corvallis. The ambulance that had completed the earlier transfer had just returned to the district and was immediately sent out again. An emergent transfer is one in which doctors determine a patient needs rapid transport to a higher level of care, often with the ambulance using lights and sirens.
Before the water rescue ended, two more medical emergencies were called in. One patient was transported by Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District under mutual aid, while Lebanon Fire District crews responded to a serious injury crash.
About 2½ hours after the initial water rescue call, the search ended with the best possible outcome when the missing woman was found safe at a friend’s home.
Lebanon Fire District thanked its mutual aid partners, the Albany Fire Department and Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District, for providing ambulance coverage during the busy period. The district also thanked the Linn County Sheriff’s Office for providing personnel, a rescue watercraft and drone resources that were instrumental in the search.
As river recreation continues throughout the summer, Lebanon Fire District reminds everyone to develop a clear plan before entering the river. Always know where you will enter and exit, communicate those plans with family or friends and notify others immediately if those plans change. Wear a properly fitted life jacket whenever you are on the water.
Lebanon Fire District provides three life jacket loaner stations where visitors can borrow life jackets at no cost before heading onto the river. Two are located at Waterloo Park and one at Gill’s Landing.