PORT GAMBLE — A man was injured in a fall from a horse deep in the Port Gamble trail system May 22.

The man’s riding helmet appears to have protected him from more serious injury, North Kitsap Fire & Rescue spokeswoman Michele Laboda reported.

NKF&R crews were called to a trailhead on Port Gamble Road, south of State Route 104 and north of Bond Road/State Route 307 at 11:15 a.m. following a cellular phone call to 911. It was reported that a 57-year-old man had fallen from a horse about 1.5 miles from the nearest road access and was unconscious.

The first crews arrived at the trailhead in less than five minutes to find that a gate with a difficult-to-operate lock barred vehicle access, Laboda reported. “The crew immediately set to loading necessary equipment onto the ambulance’s gurney, using it as a cart for the trip up the trail. Another member of the riding party led them as they rushed to the scene on foot where, about 10 minutes later, they found that the patient was now alert and oriented.”

Meanwhile, Poulsbo Fire Department offered assistance from its new trailerable off-road-vehicle (designated ORV 71) and, along with the department’s duty chief, arrived at trailhead quickly. After  several more tries at opening the gate, crews were successful and used ORV 71 to meet the first crew and assist with the patient’s transport down the trail to the ambulance.

“In just under an hour, the now-stable patient was en route to Bremerton’s Harrison Medical Center via aid unit,” Laboda reported.  The group told firefighters that a dog had spooked the man’s horse, causing it to bolt. The man fell to the ground; the back of his helmet sustained significant damage. Officials credit the sturdy helmet with preventing a more serious head injury.

They add that it’s often a challenge to reach patients who become ill or injured on one of the area’s many trails; groups can have difficulty reporting an exact location and/or many of the area’s trails aren’t wide enough to accommodate even the ORV 71.

“Today, even though the group was able to provide rescuers with clear direction and the trails were sufficient for the ORV, response was still slower than it would be in more developed areas,” Laboda reported. “To ensure the best outcome from a trail incident, firefighters encourage users to follow this group’s example: minimize delays by calling at the first sign of an emergency and provide dispatchers with location information that’s as accurate as possible.”