Township responders receive unity citation

For Digital First Media

UPPER MERION » What was supposed to have been a pleasant father and son bonding experience turned out to be a life-or-death situation for 13-year-old Nathan Kirk.

While working underneath a classic car that he and his father were building in their home garage on B Street in the Swedeland section of Upper Merion Township, the jack gave way, causing the car to fall, with the rear axle pinning Nathan’s hip. Within seven minutes of the 911 dispatch, emergency personnel arrived on scene; 21 minutes later, Nathan was extricated from under the auto and transported by helicop-

ter to the Children’s Hospital Trauma Center in Philadelphia.

In recognition of the emergency responders’ efforts, the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors recently presented a unit citation to the 24 members of the Swedeland Volunteer Fire Co, Swedesburg Volunteer Fire Co., Lafayette Ambulance and Rescue Squad and Upper Merion Township Police Department. On hand to thank the emergency personnel were members of the Kirk family.

The citation paid tribute to the emergency personnel for deploying “their knowledge, training and skills to successfully extricate and render emergency medical care to the critically injured teenager.” Their quick action, the citation read, “ultimately saved this young man’s life.”

“This was a challenging rescue to perform,” said Dennis Orangers, chief of the Swedeland Volunteer FC and incident commander at the scene. “Immediately, upon arrival we developed an action plan, because we knew we were working in close quarters and accessing the vehicle wasn’t possible from all sides. Each emergency agency had a responsibility to perform and the rescue had to be performed with extreme caution. If you lift the car up too soon, you could cause additional harm to Nathan.”

During the entire rescue process, Nathan remained conscious and alert. “We kept talking to him to get his mind off what was happening around him. We asked him about school, what grade he was in, what were his favorite subjects and if he played any sports.” Information submitted to The Times Herald