A hunter took a fall from a tree stand Saturday evening, sustaining serious injuries and required a multi-agency response to get him safely out of the woods.

Units from the West Grove Fire Company and Medic 94 were dispatched to a wooded area behind the Dansko Distribution Center east of Route 796 in Penn Township. A 911 caller reported that he had fallen 20 feet out of a tree stand and was injured. Both WGFC ambulances, both 94 paramedic units, Ladder 22, and Utility 22-3 (a four-wheel drive pickup) responded. Enroute WGFC units also requested to have a the Cochranville all terrain vehicle respond as well, with Utility 27 and ATV 27 then dispatched.

911 call takers, working with crews from Ambulance 22-1 and 22-2 and the victim on a cell phone, helped direct first responders to a very remote area several hundred yards from the nearest roadway where they hiked in and found the victim at the base of a tree. Crews from Ladder 22 and Utility 22-3 brought EMS equipment, backboard and a stokes basket back to the scene. ATV 27 arrived and began to drive into the location, passing through waste high brush and grass in the dark to reach the scene.

EMTs, paramedics, and firefighters worked together to stabilize and package the patient who was then placed aboard ATV 27. With EMT's riding along to help stabilize and secure the patient, firefighters with flashlights walked ahead of the ATV to find the best route out of the woods and brush to a waiting ambulance. The patient was then transferred to the ambulance with Ambulance 22-1 and Medic 94 transporting the patient to the Christiana Hospital.

The entire operation lasted about an hour. Utility 22-1 and WGFC fire police also assisted on the call.