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Health Care Hero First Responders: STACY KRAUSMANN & LT. RONALD THOMASON
By Holly Fisher
Special Projects Editor
Charleston County EMS paramedic crew chief Stacy Krausmann never takes Trolley Road in Summerville when heading home, and Lt. Ronald Thomason of the Summerville Police Department travels Trolley Road frequently and without incident.
But on Oct. 15, for some unknown reason, Krausmann took Trolley Road on her way home from work. While driving, she heard a loud noise and in her rearview mirror saw what looked like a business sign exploding alongside the road. She realized a car had struck the sign.
Thomason also was on Trolley Road when he saw a lot of people scurrying around—not a good sign, he thought.
Krausmann and Thomason both stopped their cars and ran to the accident. They heard a whoosh as the car caught fire, but they didn’t realize at first that a woman was trapped inside. When they saw her inside, they raced to the car and dragged the woman from it, down the sidewalk and to safety.
Krausmann tried to keep the woman, who was crying and screaming, motionless in case of a spinal injury.
“I just kept saying, ‘Calm down, everything’s OK,’ ” Krausmann said.
At the same time, Thomason was working to clear the area so emergency vehicles could get through.
The two had thrown the rules of rescue out the window. Normally, emergency workers try to avoid putting themselves directly in harm’s way—such as pulling a woman from a burning car that was also directly below a power line—but Krausmann and Thomason said they were compelled to help.
“We couldn’t watch her burn to death,” Krausmann said.
As a shift commander for the last seven years, Thomason said he usually arrives on a scene after the major action, doing traffic control and briefing the police chief.
Krausmann faces a similar situation in that she usually arrives on the scene after the damage is done.
“With EMS, we’re trying to fix what already happened, so very rarely do we see what happened,” she said. “(This incident) definitely got my blood racing.”
Both Krausmann and Thomason credit their ability to work together as critical to the situation’s positive outcome.
“I think the Lord put us there at the right time,” Thomason said.
Krausmann added, “Sometimes you’re able to do things together you wouldn’t be able to do
alone.”
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