Troops from Task Force Rattlesnake, a task force composed of National Guard, State Guard (State Defense Force) as well as civilian personnel, have recently assisted in the rescue of a CALFIRE firefighter.

California State Guard Assists in the Rescue of Firefighter

By SSG (CA) Al Rocca

California State Guard SPC (CA) Brian Cole was working on Joint Taskforce Rattlesnake when he assisted in the rescue of a CalFire firefighter. Joint Taskforce Rattlesnake is a combined military/ civilian effort to clear high-risk wildland of debris to prevent wildfires. The taskforce was re-assigned from their fire prevention efforts and into a hand crew to fight the pond fire incident near Paso Robles, CA when a member of their team sustained a broken leg after falling down a steep hillside.

According to SPC(CA) Cole “We prepared a stokes basket litter and packaged him for an ambulance extraction. This included fully tieing (sic) in the patient and splinting his leg with a Sam splint tape and Sawyers chaps to immobilize the injury… (EMS was called to respond within 5 minutes). An 8-man basket carry team descended approximately 500 meters on steep uneven terrain. We arrived just as the medical unit arrived. The division chief was impressed with the fast moment of the troops. 22 min from the time of the call. Our fire captain said that it could be a CalFire record.” The firefighter was transported in stable condition.