Great Neck Vigilant Firefighter Chief Joshua Forst reports that his fire department rescued a woman from a fall onto the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) track at the station in Great Neck Plaza.
On Thursday, July 2, just before 5:45 p.m., the members of the Vigilant Fire Company responded to a call for a woman who had fallen from a LIRR train onto the track below.
Upon arrival, Chief Forst found a 65-year-old woman under the train platform; she had fallen onto the track while disembarking at the Great Neck Station. Forst reported the woman was “calm and complaining of minor injuries.” While Chief Forst worked with the LIRR Movement Bureau and the MTA Police Department to ensure that power was off to the 750 volt third rail and coordinated the rescue effort, the volunteer members descended to the track below to assess and extricate the injured woman. Second Assistant Chief Justin Sachmechi, Second Lieutenant Joseph Oginski and Nassau County Police Department Emergency Ambulance Bureau Paramedic Matthew Gordon found the patient was conscious, alert, and had minor injuries. Afterward they said that their challenge would be extricating the woman from the tight space and removing her without further injury.
Within 35 minutes, the crew of three had secured the patient and were able to slide her under the train and lift her back onto the train and remove her from the original platform where she had intended to alight. The patient was transported, in stable condition, to North Shore Hospital in Manhasset for evaluation.
Chief Forst also told the Great Neck Record that while this was happening, the Vigilant Fire Company also responded to a 14-year-old suffering from a seizure in Saddle Rock Estates and a carbon monoxide detector activation in the Village of Great Neck Estates.
The Vigilant Fire Company is an all-volunteer fire company which provides fire and heavy rescue services to the villages of Great Neck Plaza, Kensington, Great Neck Estates, parts of Thomaston and the unincorporated area of the Town of North Hempstead, all on the Great Neck peninsula. The Vigilant Fire Company also provides all emergency medical services for the entire peninsula from the LIRR tracks north to the Long Island Sound. Annually, the membership receives nearly 2,500 calls for emergency assistance. To report a fire or medical emergency call 516-482-5000. For other nonemergency questions call 516-487-1086 or email info@gnfd.org.
