Chapter 85

Firefighters, in addition to preventing and responding to fires, also undertake a wide range of rescue tasks.

Due to the high overlap in their duties, doctors and firefighters frequently interact. In many surgeries involving mechanical injuries, firefighters stand beside the doctors, working together to rescue the patient. One breaks down the machinery while the other saves the person.

The operating room has three entrances, with a dedicated one for medical staff. After about ten minutes, a fire truck parked behind the building. Three firefighters, carrying demolition equipment, entered the operating room after being disinfected and changing into surgical gowns.

"The little girl's hand is stuck in this cylinder, and there's a roller inside," Dr. Shi, the lead surgeon, said to the firefighters, who he knew well. "I've already observed the hand with an endoscope; it's caught in the roller, but the hand and fingers are intact. However, the roller is gripping it tightly, and we need to dismantle it quickly. Otherwise, prolonged compression of the tendons and bones could result in her hand losing the ability to grasp objects in the future."

Captain Shi Yaqing quickly approached and, upon seeing the stainless steel cylinder, felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

After further inspection, Captain Shi Yaqing's unease grew even more.

"Little girl, the firefighters will soon help you get this thing off," Captain Shi Yaqing gently comforted An Nianxian, who was lying on the operating table.

An Nianxian nodded. She had been trapped for half an hour, and her face was becoming increasingly pale. At this point, she no longer felt much pain, just numbness.

The nurse had not administered anesthesia; the numbness was due to prolonged compression causing a lack of blood flow.

Captain Shi Yaqing exchanged a glance and called over two doctors and another firefighter.

"Dr. Shi, the situation here is not good."

"What's the problem? Can't we just cut it open with a cutting machine?"

Dr. Shi was puzzled: "In the past, many factory injuries were handled by cutting machines. The last patient whose hand was caught in a machine's roller was freed by you cutting open the roller, right?"

"The situation is different," Captain Shi Yaqing, who was about the same age as Ye Qing, made a shushing gesture and whispered, "Do you know how long it took us to cut that steel roller?"

"It took us a full forty minutes, and that was just to cut one end. We had to use a hydraulic spreader to lever it open."

"The little girl's hand is stuck in a thick-walled stainless steel cylinder. Stainless steel is very hard and tough, and it's cylindrical, making it difficult to find a leverage point."

"Moreover, we can only cut vertically, one cut from the top and one from the bottom, a cutting distance of nearly thirty centimeters. We need to spray a lot of water to cool it down. It would take at least five to six hours to cut through it."

"Five to six hours?" Dr. Shi was surprised. "We can't wait an hour, let alone five or six. It would be better to amputate."

"If stainless steel is so hard to cut, how do factories process it?"

"Processing a part can't take several days, right?" Another doctor was equally puzzled, unable to understand why a regular iron rod could be cut in a few minutes, but stainless steel would take hours.

"Factories use plasma cutting and wire saw machines to cut stainless steel."

"Plasma cutting reaches thousands of degrees. The electric arc would carbonize her hand after penetrating the stainless steel wall. A wire saw would cut it in half, and her hand would be severed as well."

Captain Shi Yaqing felt helpless: "There's only one way now. We need to anesthetize her and use a hydraulic wrench to forcibly turn the roller."

The roller was gripping her hand very tightly, meaning that reversing it would cause additional damage. Most critically, after such a long time, the little girl's hand had already started to swell. Reversing it would...

But there was no other choice. The firefighters, despite their pain, had to make a decisive decision.

Since even the firefighters said there was no other way, the doctors quickly decided to inform the family and prepare to forcibly reverse the roller, so they could mentally prepare.

The corridor was already crowded with people.

On one side were the grieving family members, and on the other were the anxious supermarket employees pacing back and forth.

Six family members of An Nianxian had arrived, including two elderly people and two couples, but her father was not among them.

After hearing the details from An Nianxian's mother, the six relatives gathered around. The two elderly people grabbed Ye Qing's hand and said emotionally, "Young man, thank you so much. You are a great benefactor to our family."

"It was nothing, really," Ye Qing replied modestly.

"For Nianxian, you even ran two red lights..." An Nianxian's mother wiped away her tears.

"Right, right. Second sister, third sister, do you have any money?" The elderly person asked the children beside them, who quickly searched their pockets.

"Who is the patient's mother?" A young nurse called out to the crowd in the corridor.

"I... I am."

"The patient's condition is special, and the firefighters are here. However, they can't dismantle it and can only use another method, which might affect the patient's hand..."

"What kind of effect?" The family members immediately became tense and surrounded the nurse.

"It will cause secondary damage to the patient's hand, possibly affecting its function in the future. If you agree, please sign the consent form."

Upon hearing this, An Nianxian's mother and the two elderly people turned pale and knelt before the nurse, begging the doctors and firefighters to find another way.

"There really is no other way. Please consider it, but the patient doesn't have much time," the young nurse said, preparing to close the operating room door. However, a strong hand held the sliding door open.

"When did the firefighters arrive? I didn't see them go in. Are they planning to forcibly reverse the roller because they can't cut the cylinder?"

"We have a dedicated entrance, and I didn't understand what they were discussing," the young nurse stammered. This man was so domineering, but when his deep, confident eyes met hers, she found him incredibly charming.

"Have one of them come out and talk to me. Tell them I have a way to cut the cylinder."

The young nurse instinctively said "Oh" and ran into the operating room to relay Ye Qing's message to the doctors and firefighters.

"These family members are just causing trouble," another doctor fumed. Even the firefighters couldn't do it, so what could a family member do?

"He... doesn't seem to be a family member," the young nurse said hesitantly. "He seems to be a kind person who brought the patient here. He looks very distinguished."

"Dr. Shi, please calm down. This kind person, since he guessed we couldn't cut the cylinder, must be an expert. He might be a factory owner," Captain Shi Yaqing said. "I'll go out and ask him what he suggests."

"We don't have much time."

Captain Shi Yaqing poked his head out of the door, first puzzled, then enlightened, and said with some joy, "It's you?"

"Do you recognize me?" The man was wearing a medical mask, and Ye Qing couldn't tell who he was.

"That time, on the provincial road, when we took a shortcut with our fire trucks, you stopped us and warned us about the tire spikes on the ground."

Ye Qing remembered that incident, impressed by the firefighter's good memory.

This isn't the time for reminiscing. Ye Qing quickly asked, "Are you planning to reverse the roller?"

"Yes, I remember your car had many advertisements for cutting machinery." Captain Shi Yaqing quickly replied, "Since you're an expert, you must understand why we can't cut the stainless steel cylinder."

"The nurse said you have a way to cut it. Can you really do it?"

"Yes, give me twenty minutes. I'll go get the equipment."