Joseph Allen, 914th Fire Emergency Services Department of Defense civilian and Senior Airman with the 914th Airlift Wing as a Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician, speaks with local media at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on June 12, 2014 about lifesaving measures provided to a woman who was involved in a serious accident. Allen was off duty at the time and was one of the first people to respond to the accident. He treated the woman who required immediate medical intervention and as a result of his training and response doctors were able to preserve the woman's arm which was injured in the accident. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Peter Borys)

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Col. Steven Parker (Left), 914th Airlift Wing Commander, presents Joseph Allen, 914th Fire Emergency Services Department of Defense civilian and Senior Airman with the 914th Airlift Wing as a Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician, with a commander's coin while Allen’s family members look on at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on June 12, 2014. The coin was presented to Allen who responded and treated a woman involved in a serious auto accident. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Peter Borys)

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Joseph Allen, 914th Fire Emergency Services Department of Defense civilian and Senior Airman with the 914th Airlift Wing as a Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician, shows local media the commander’s coin presented to him by Col. Steven Parker (center), 914th Airlift Wing Commander, at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. June 12, 2014. The coi

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Niagara firefighter provides life saving interventions

Published June 18, 2014
By Peter Borys and Felicia Redden
914th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. -- Quick reaction and ingenuity by an Air Force Reserve emergency medical technician who witnessed a multiple vehicle accident helped save a life.

Joseph Allen, a Department of Defense civilian employee with the Niagara Falls ARS Fire Emergency Services and a senior airman in the 914th Airlift Wing, put his life-saving skills to work after a collision involving a dump truck and passenger car.

The dump truck came to rest on its side, entangled in electrical wires, while the car suffered crushing front end and driver-side damage. Allen observed a woman trapped in the car's driver side bleeding profusely from a severe laceration and possible compound fracture to her arm. Without hesitation, his EMT/military training enabled him to improvise a tourniquet out of a T-shirt and combination screwdriver/scraper.

The victim was extricated from the vehicle and flown by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical-Trauma Center in Buffalo.

Allen's instinctive reactions allowed him to quickly assess the victim and initiate emergency care. These techniques proved to be life-saving interventions, due to the severity of the victim's injuries.

Allen was recognized for his efforts by Col. Steven Parker, 914th Airlift Wing commander, who presented him with a commander's coin in front of his peers and local media.