Portland firefighters improvise in an effort to save a man`s life

Jan. 05--Firefighters racing to save a man's life put on a display of brute strength this morning when they teamed up to lift a 3,200-pound car off pedestrian who was pinned to a Northeast Portland street.

"It was pretty impressive," said Tommy Schroder, a firefighter who was on his way to work and heard the call on his radio. "I had arrived just after the accident and watched these guys get around the car and lift it up."

The first call came in about 6:40 a.m. and crews from two Portland fire stations were sent to check out reports of a man pinned beneath a vehicle at the intersection of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Grand Avenue, confusing because the streets parallel each other.

A witness said the man was hit by a car and then lying in the road when another car, unable to stop, hit him and pinned him face down on the road. Other calls came in from citizens, but each caller provided a different address.

The first crews were unable to find an accident, said Justin de Ruyter, Portland Fire Bureau public information officer. Crews began searching the area and found the correct address, which was on Martin Luther King Boulevard on the Interstate 84 overpass.

A paramedic determined the victim was in critical condition and they had no time to set up the standard equipment needed to move the car.

"Sometimes we use fancy tools," de Ruyter said. "Sometimes we just do what it takes to get the job done."

The man, who was not identified, was pulled from under the car and taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition.

--Tom Hallman Jr.

Copyright 2012 - The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.