August 4th, 2019 by WCBC Radio
One patient was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries after being rescued from the Potomac River Saturday afternoon. Three other people were also rescued by a multi-state response near the river access point at Black Oak Bottom, between Rawlings and McCoole in Maryland.
“Fire and EMS units from Allegany County and Mineral County, West Virginia were dispatched to the incident at 11:58 a.m. Saturday,” Todd Bowman, public information officer for the Allegany Department of Emergency Services said. “Specialized teams trained in water emergencies and rescues were requested and responded to the incident that lasted approximately two and half hours.”
The Allegany County Special Operations Team, comprised of members from LaVale, Cresaptown, Bowling Green, Barton, Potomac (Westernport) and Rawlings fire department’s were assisted by Mineral County Special Operations units from Fort Ashby and Fountain, according to the incident commander Steve Adams.
Tri-Towns EMS, Keyser EMS and Allegany County Department of Emergency Services EMS Division also responded.
“Keyser EMS transported one patient to Western Maryland Regional Medical Center in Cumberland after he was pinned by a lower extremity against a log for approximately one hour,” Adams said. “The force of the water trapped the occupant until rescuers could reach him.”
Adams added that two kayakers were able to be assisted out of the water by teams and one other was rescued from an island.
Fire and EMS operations were completed at 2:20 p.m. and units cleared the scene, according to Bowman.
