Man Thanks N.H. Crews for Rescue
July 28--DOVER -- Thanks for saving me. That was the message Jeff Cullen brought Tuesday to Dover Fire and Rescue, as he was providing lunch to the crew who rescued him from a bad vehicle crash in June.
In the afternoon of June 18, Cullen, a commercial electrician, was commuting home on Littleworth Road from a job in Barrington.
At the intersection of Crosby Road, Cullen's utility van collided with a tractor trailer truck and was lodged underneath the trailer. The crash broke one femur bone and two ribs. He was hospitalized for days, and is taking part in intensive physical therapy since his hospital release. The driver of the tractor trailer was given a citation for failing to yield.
On Tuesday, Cullen was standing with the aid of crutches, sharing stories of the crash with the folks who extricated him from the vehicle and transported him to the hospital. It took about 45 minutes to remove him his utility van.
"The whole hour seemed like 10 days," Cullen told the crew members who rescued him from the truck. Cullen along with Steve Piling, director of operations for North Hampton-based Reilly Electrical Contractors, provided lunch to members of the D-Shift at Dover Fire & Rescue. The D-Shift team was the group that responded to the crash.
"We appreciate your hard work," Cullen said.
Piling commended the crew for going "above and beyond" for taking care of not only Cullen, but for the van and tools that needed to be removed from the utility van to help get to extricate him. After the crash, the van was towed to the South End Fire Station for safe keeping so Piling could just focus on caring for Cullen and not worrying about the tools until the next day.
"It was the least that we could do for you guys," Piling said about providing lunch.
Cullen, 44, of Portsmouth, has been out of work since the crash, and he likely won't be back to work until at least late fall. But he can't wait, he said. He went from being a busy body with work and family activities to having limited mobility and mostly homebound. Because of his pain medication, he is unable to drive. He really appreciates the small things, like a friend picking him up so Cullen can go on errands with him, just so Cullen can get out of the house.
He said his body has improved fairly rapidly in recent weeks. The swelling in his feet has diminished enough to wear sneakers. He is regaining strength and mobility. His broken ribs still bother him, and he avoids at all costs coughing and sneezing.
Fire Chief Richard Driscoll said this was one of the more challenging vehicle extractions he has dealt with over his career.
"It shows you the importance of team work," he said. On scene were 15 members of Dover Fire & Rescue. Some members attended to Cullen's health while working to get him out of the vehicle while others helped to keep the scene safe.
The members of Dover Fire and Rescue who were at the of crash were Driscoll, Assistant Chief James Ormond, Deputy Chief Randy Provencher, Cpt. David Lindh, Lt. David Golding, Lt. E.J. Hoyt, Engineer David Camire, Matt Adams, Brian Jacques, Jenn Myers, Rob Downs, Erik Smith, Derick Schrempf, Nick Xenos and T.J. Stati.
Copyright 2015 - Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H.
