Bees Swarm Injured Man, Paramedics on Des Plaines River Bank

Traffic backed up near Golf and River roads on Wednesday evening and Des Plaines fire and departments responded to a report of a man with an ankle injury. While the paramedics and firefighters were rescuing the man, a beehive was disturbed and a swarm of bees stung the patient and paramedics, Fire Chief Alan Wax stated in an email to Patch.

was dispatched to the bank of the Des Plaines River under Golf Road for a report of a person with an ankle injury at 5:54 p.m. on July 25, Wax stated. The man had a serious leg injury, and had to be lifted to the roadway, approximately 20 feet.

“To add further challenge to the rescue, while moving-around the rocks adjacent to the victim, a beehive must have been disturbed because rescuers and victim suddenly found themselves in the middle of a swarm of hundreds of bees,” Wax stated.

The patient and a few of the rescue workers were stung.

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Firefighters utilized a ladder truck, ropes and a rescue basket using a hauling system to rescue the injured man. The man was conscious throughout the rescue, and was taken in stable condition to the hospital, Wax stated.

Traffic was backed up considerably for 45 minutes as the fire department rescued the man. The right-hand lane of westbound Golf Road at River Road and the right-hand lane of northbound River Road at Golf Road were blocked.

Earlier:

The scene was cleared and the road was opened at approximately 6:45 p.m., Wax stated. Crews did an excellent job, he added.

“This incident is a testament to the depth and breadth of training of the Des Plaines Fire Department personnel, and demonstrates that our responders are equipped and prepared to handle the wide variety of emergency situations that they may encounter in providing service,” Wax stated.

Using the ladder truck as an overhead anchor point demonstrated the versatility of the truck, beyond use at structure fires, he stated.

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