Tuesday afternoon saw emergency services providers from across the southern end of Chester County involved in a serious crash in Penn Township on Kelton Road that sent five victims to the hospital. The West Grove Fire Company was alerted for a serious crash at 2:25pm this afternoon, with initial reports indicated the possibility of a subject ejected. As units were responding, the call was further upgraded with reports of entrapment.

The WGFC responded with multiple units, including Engine 22-1, Squad (rescue) 22, Engine 22-3, Utility 22-1 and two basic support ambulances (BLS). Also initially requested was a medic unit from Longwood (25) as both of Medic 94's units were on previous calls. During the response, Medic 94-1 made the response from the Elkton area returning from Union Hospital. With reports of additional patients, responding units added an additional BLS unit to the response (Oxford).

First arriving units reported two vehicles crashed, with some patients still in vehicles and some patients on the ground alongside the roadway. A third involved vehicle was also discovered. One crashed vehicle - a four door SUV was in the roadway with serious front end damage and appeared to have rolled over, and a second SUV was off the roadway with heavy front end damage. The third vehicle was 250 feet away from the scene.

Firefighters and EMTs immediately began to triage patients and develop a plan of attack. Crews from Squad (rescue) 22 and Engine 22-1 joined forces, with firefighters beginning to work on freeing the driver of the white SUV off the roadway. A second team worked on the patients on the ground alongside the roadway, with additional firefighters beginning efforts to get multiple patients out of the blue SUV in the roadway -- that effort took some time and the use of rescue tools to gain access to safely remove one patient. A fourth BLS ambulance was requested as crews were dealing with a crowded scene and a potential of as many as eight patients to be evaluated.

Some patients were removed and transported quickly, and some had to be removed from vehicles with rescue efforts and then transported. Ultimately, three crash victims were identified as needing ALS (advanced life support) and were transported to area hospitals. Two BLS patients were also transported to hospitals, and three victims refused EMS services. One patient went to Nemours Hospital, and four went to the trauma center at Christiana Hospital.

By the time the incident was complete, two ambulances from the WGFC were used, one from Oxford, one from Avondale, a MICU (medic unit) and an additional paramedic from Longwood, along with Medic 94. This shows the outstanding partnerships and teamwork of fire and EMS agencies in southern Chester County, with units backing each other up. In this case, both Medic 94 units had been on previous calls, and WGFC's third ambulance was on a previous call as well. And, during this incident, additional units backed up the area, with two additional emergencies took place during the crash call -- a medical call in Penn Township and an other auto accident in the Oxford area.

WGFC units were on scene for about 90 minutes, with WGFC fire police remaining for much longer while State Police from Avondale conducted their investigation.