The rescue team from the Chugiak Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call for assistance Saturday in Ptarmigan Valley, with help from LifeMed helicopter service.

According to department spokesman Jeff Hartley, a fellow snowmachine rider placed the call around 2:30 p.m. reporting the accident in the valley, about 10 miles from the trailhead on the Old Glenn Highway.

The department's deputy chief Tom Reinbold was the first to arrive at the trailhead and on the scene of the accident after being given a ride by a friend of the rider up the mountain.

"He was on scene providing medical assistance within 30 minutes of the call," Hartley said. "The department's two rescue snowmachines were joined by five or six other volunteer firefighters with their own machines at the base and eventually made their way up the mountain."

Hartley added that Alaska State Troopers were notified of the rescue because it was within Chugach State Park.

"The deputy chief determined that it was best to fly out the injured man and after evaluating the area, the LifeMed helicopter landed," Hartley said. "The injured man was transported to a local hospital for treatment."

The man suffered an injury to his leg. His identity and condition was not released.

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This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, December 24, 2009.