Ring Rescue: Flemington-Raritan Squad Cuts Swollen Fingers Free

RARITAN, NJ — On Tuesday morning, Rescue Squad personnel from Flemington and Raritan helped a resident who had three rings stuck on their finger.

The person was at Hunterdon Medical Center, where emergency department staff had tried to get the rings off. They had even tried cutting the rings, which didn't work because the metal was too thick. The person's fingers were swelling and in pain.

So, the rescue team went to work, with the emergency department also helping. Rescue Squad personnel used a battery-operated rotary tool to carefully cut each ring. The squad had an improvised shield, made of a flattened steel spoon, to protect the person's finger.

"The finger and ring are also cooled during the cutting process to prevent heat build-up," the rescue squad explained in a Facebook post.

Heavy Rescue 495 carries these tools for a number of jobs, the squad said.

Crews were back in service in about 30 minutes, the rescue squad said.

"This kit contains all sorts of specialized and improvised tools for minor incidents such as this, to more serious incidents like auger entrapments or limbs stuck in industrial machinery," the squad said. "Having this preassembled kit saves time during critical incidents, and is supplemented with the inventory of tools and equipment on the Heavy Rescue. Rescue personnel have undergone training for exactly this type of scenario as well as more complex ones, and have handled similar ring incidents in the past."