Tuesday night a 12-year-old boy was injured when a firework exploded in his hand, leaving him with severe injuries.
Officials said the young boy was lighting fireworks alone on Thomas Lake, just north of Ashland, when the accident happened.
The first responders in the area worked together to get the young boy to the hospital.
Paramedic for Mead Fire, Andrew Eckart, said the family was racing to a hospital in Wahoo, and his station along with several others responded to help them when they heard the seriousness of the boy's injuries.
“We can’t let that fly by without being treated as soon as possible,” he said.
Mead and Wahoo Fire Departments along with an EMT from Yutan intercepted the family on the highway and helped the young boy, while the fire chief from Ithaca helped Life Net land.
“You couldn’t even tell on scene who was from what department, and it didn’t matter, we were all there for the same thing,” said Eckart.
He said everyone was just working together, they were able to get Life Net landed, the boy loaded, and on his way to Nebraska Medicine in record time.
“Everybody knew their position, because we have trained for a lot of traumas, so everybody knew their positions, and did what needed to be done, what was best for the patient.”
The respect and teamwork between the departments shown can be a rarity.
“A lot of places would be really angry you stepped on their toes, Mead wasn't actually dispatched to this call either, but I am on Wahoo and we knew the patient was going to be driving right past us and needed help as soon as possible,” said Eckart.
He said that a call like this is never something they want to handle, but are glad to know they can handle one while working together.
“Between dispatch, Mead, Wahoo, Yutan, and we got Life Net in route before we met the patient, it was a great cohesive effort.”
The 12-year-old boy was flows directly to Nebraska Medicine, where he is still recovering from his injuries.
