Chester FD responds to medical emergency on towboat

<span>On Friday morning, the Chester Fire Department responded to the report of a medical emergency on a towboat around the 115 mile mark on the Mississippi River, which is north of the Chester Bridge.</span>

<span>According to Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert, his department's water rescue unit was paged out at 8:03 a.m. to provide transport for an individual experiencing chest pains aboard the 140-foot, 5,600 horsepower vessel D.R. Boney.</span>

<span>According to a source with knowledge of the vessel type, towboats of that size typically carry a crew of 10 - including pilots, engineers, deckhands and a cook.</span>

<span>The CFD deployed its rescue boat and two paramedics and was able to transfer the patient, who is said to be the towboat's cook, to paramedics with MedStar Ambulance at the Chester boat ramp.</span>

<span>"They couldn't get off anywhere, that's why we deployed our boat," Bert said. "We took two medics with us. We made contact with the patient, assessed the patient and decided they could bring her back to the Chester boat ramp, which (responders) did."</span>

<span>The patient was transported to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.</span>

<span>"Anybody who has heart trouble, (paramedics) take them to a specialized facility," Bert said.</span>

<span>CFD responders were back in service at 9:20 a.m.</span>