A violent mid-afternoon thunderstorm raced through Chester County leaving destruction in its path.  With horizontal straight-line winds of up to 70 to 75 MPH and heavy rain, many fire and rescue companies in Chester and Delaware Counties were kept busy responding to emergencies for several hours.

As a result of this storm, the first call for the Alert volunteers was for Rescue 45 to respond to assist Station 49 (East Brandywine Fire Co.) on Rt. 282  near Dorlans Mill Rd. for tree down on a car, with two people trapped inside.  The rescue crew found it difficult responding to the scene due to the many trees and wires down on the roadways.  The rescue team along with the crew from Engine 49 stabilized both the car and the tree, then removed the doors of the car so that the victims could be extricated from the car and taken to a hospital.

The Alerts, in addition to the rescue call, respond to several automatic alarms, a reported house fire and calls for trees and wires that feel onto houses.

Photo's are courtesy of coatesvillefire.org and ebfc49.org