When Nenana fire Chief Joe Forness felt like he was having a heart attack, he did the sensible thing: He called an ambulance and headed to Fairbanks — even though he wasn’t sure it really was a heart attack.
“It was more like gas or an air bubble,” Forness said. “It was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t anything I thought a heart attack was.”
Ten minutes into the Nov. 22 trip, that odd feeling disappeared. He and the emergency medical technicians on board all carefully examined his symptoms, which did not appear to be cardiac-related.
“As we’re laying there, talking about what it could be, the driver says, ‘Hey, some folks are in a ditch here. Let’s stop and see if they need help.’”
They stumbled upon a serious accident between a vehicle and a snowmachine, just north of Nenana. One person, suffering serious injuries, needed to be transported immediately.