As our region has been threatened with back to back snow storms, the efforts to keep our area accessible has proven to be challenging. Many residents in Snohomish County have seen 18 or more inches of snow over the last week. That amount of snow not only creates hazardous road conditions and additional dangers for citizens, but it has challenged how crews have responded to emergencies. Last week crews were dispatched to a residence for a medical emergency in an area that was not accessible due to the excessive amount of snow that was on the road. Crews were not able to drive to the residence, rather they had to park on the main road and hike in to the patient. Once they reached the residence they found that the patient needed to be transport to the hospital. Firefighters were not be able to use their gurney due to the current conditions and had to think outside the box to get the patient to the medic unit.