(Photo: Elgin Volunteer Fire Department Facebook)
A challenging rescue for members of the Elgin Volunteer Fire Department.
Fire Chief Kent Steeves says his Deputy Chief and several firefighters were called to Gibson Falls Wednesday evening in an area used for cliff jumping, “The young lady that had fallen was trying to climb back up the side of the rock face to where they usually go to the top and jump back in again and she got almost all of the ay up, lost her footing and went back down.”
Steeves says it is a pretty deep cavern, “There’s rock face on both sides. You have water that is sometimes flowing very well. To get a person that is immobilized back up out of that rock face is pretty tough. If we can’t get them out in a safe manner, we will usually call in Riverview Fire Department because they have a floatation device that they can float the patient down and they have a swift water team. They have a little more expertise on some of those calls.”
A rescue while under a heat warning, doesn’t help in the situation any, “The heat makes things a little bit harder. We can’t go down there in a pair of shorts and tank tops. We have to wear our gear, and have to make sure we have the right equipment on. The heat definitely changes the outcome, makes your hands slippery. It also causes a lot of exhaustion. After you’ve been working at it for more than an hour, it does pose a bit of a challenge,” Steeves says.
He adds it is an annual thing being called called to the Falls for incidents, “We normally go up there at least once a year for a call, sometimes it’s two or three times a year, while other years.”
The woman was taken to hospital, but Steeves didn’t have an update on her injuries.
