'It Was A Very Intense Extrication' By Rescuers

But nothing they'd ever experienced would prepare them for what they were to face this time.

"Unbelievable" was how Lexington firefighter Robert Foresman described the scene. What he saw resembled an airplane crash, he said, recalling the words of a state policeman who was also a witness to the carnage.

Damon Woody, captain of the Glasgow First Aid Crew, remembered being confronted with the scores of injured that were interspersed throughout an abundance of," twisted metal.''

Expecting a long night answering emergency calls because of the ice storm, Natural Bridge firefighter Tom Raisbeck said he'd spent Saturday night at the firehouse. Actually, though, it was a relatively quiet night, until the call about the accident came through Sunday morning.

What was readily apparent to Raisbeck, as he approached the accident site, was "that there were more people who needed treatment than we could help.'' What evolved, he said, was "sort of like a M.A.S.H. unit."

Woody, the first to arrive on the scene, said his initial task was to go up to each of the victims to assess their conditions and determine what help was going to be needed. Particularly daunting were the numerous people trapped in vehicles that were underneath and in between the wrecked tractor-trailers.

"With all the people entrapped in their vehicles, it was sort of like a pie," said Woody. "You had to start with the outside crust, and go layer by layer until you got to the middle. It was a very intense extrication. Stabilizing the tractor-trailers provided an extra piece to the puzzle."

Raisbeck said color-coded tags were attached to the victims to designate the severity of the injuries—green for "can wait," yellow for ''in need of assistance," red for "need help right away" and black for dead.

In observing the mangled wreckage, Raisbeck offered this description of the van that was demolished by a tractor-trailer, moments after the occupants had exited: "It looked like it had gone through a car crushing machine. It was no more than 18 inches wide."

Ambulances and helicopters were constantly coming and going, transporting victims to area hospitals, said Raisbeck. He commented that "all of the crews meshed well together, considering how bad it was." He said there were six local departments— Glasgow First Aid, Natural Bridge Fire, Lexington Fire, Lexington Rescue, Buena Vista Fire and Rescue—actively involved in the rescue efforts, with members from other departments also on the scene helping out.

Woody, Foresman and Raisbeck all praised the efforts of Bobby Berkstresser and the Lee Hi Truck Stop crews in removing the wreckage so the emergency personnel could reach the victims.

Woody estimated that the chain reaction accident probably didn't take more than l0 seconds, while the rescue efforts lasted approximately six hours. It was 2:30 p.m. before the last victim was removed from the wreckage.

Woody noted that it was indeed fortunate there were only four fatalities, given that there were 35 people in the various vehicles involved in the wrecks. "Given the scenario, we were very fortunate. A lot of lives were saved. All the volunteers worked very well together. I commend them all.'

In addition to the volunteers at the wreck site, others were helping out not far away at an emergency shelter that was set up at the Natural Bridge Firehouse. Approximately 15-20 people stranded by the wrecks went to the shelter for "food and warmth," said Raisbeck. There were still people at the shelter when he left at 6:30 p.m., some 10 hours after the accident.

Volunteers worked hand-in-hand the entire day, said Foresman. "It was a countywide effort. Everybody pitched in, doing anything and everything that was necessary to get the people out of their vehicles, treated and on their way to the hospital.

In all, there were "probably 100 to 150 volunteers from throughout the county" who helped out, said Foresman "We all Consider ourselves just one big family. This family just worked great together [on Sunday]," he said. The rescuers are now being tended to, said Woody. "When we respond to a situation like this, the adrenaline is flowing and it's not until it's over that you realize what you've been through " Last night, a trauma management team was to meet with the emergency crews who took part in the rescue efforts. "We're human, just like anybody else ... we need to take care of not only the victims, but ourselves."