Fort St. John Fire Department use jaws of life to gain access to individual involved in emergency

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Fire Department recently used the jaws of life to retrieve keys from a realtor’s lockbox to access an individual in their home. 

Firefighters could be seen leaving the grand opening of the new RCMP detachment around noon on Friday to respond to the medical call.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Troiano said the firefighters used “quick thinking” to utilize available resources to help the resident.

“I can’t provide much insight into medical emergencies,” said Troiano. “I will say that when our crews are responding to any emergency, we’re going to look for any opportunity that is available to us to be able to access the emergency and patient in general.”

Although Troiano was unable to provide further details, councillor Trevor Bolin posted about the incident in a community Facebook group.

Bolin’s post said the fire department was able to quickly access the individual involved in the incident, who was unable to answer the door and ensure they received the medical attention they needed. 

Gaining access to the realtor’s lockbox also prevented damage to the individual’s home and door.