This past Saturday morning, Oak Bluffs first responders had to improvise to overcome a uniquely Oak Bluffs predicament to get Campground resident Ted Stewart to the hospital.
Oak Bluffs police were first to respond after Mr. Stewart’s wife Diane called 911. She said Mr. Stewart was in such severe pain he was unable to get out of his bed in their second-story bedroom.
Mrs. Stewart said EMTs arrived shortly after the police, and it quickly became apparent that the staircase in the 1870 house was too narrow to accommodate a stretcher.
“The corners in those houses are really sharp and tight,” Oak Bluffs Fire Chief John Rose told The Times. “The safest option for everybody is to extract them through the window. Sometimes in these older houses, it’s the only option we have.”
In this case, responders took Mr. Stewart out a second-floor window onto a tiny pulpit porch, and then transferred him to an OBFD ladder truck and lowered him to the street below.
Chief Rose said that there were three similar extrications in the Campground last year.
Mrs. Stewart had high praise for Oak Bluffs first responders. “They were all fantastic,” she said. “Two wonderful policemen showed up right away; the EMTs were also there quickly. They were very professional and caring. They tried everything, they tried a board, they tried a chair, but there was no way to get him down the stairs. Then the real drama started when they called the fire department. They went into action right away and got him out.”
The Stewarts have owned the Butler Avenue house for 16 years. Mrs. Stewart said this is their first winter in the Campground. Mr. Stewart was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, and is resting comfortably at home, Mrs. Stewart said.