The risks of rescue work

The 25-year old Niagara Falls man who was airlifted out of the Niagara Gorge earlier this week remains in hospital with multiple broken bones. And further down river last night, another man in his 50’s had to be rescued near the Peace Bridge.

When Fort Erie firefighters got there the man was clinging to a rock in about four feet of fast moving water, that still has huge chunks of ice floating in it.

Chief Larry Coplen is with the Fort Erie Fire Dept: “It’s cold. It doesn’t take long for someone in the water to succumb to hypothermia. There’s no doubt about that.”

Firefighters jumped into water while others stayed on shore ready to lift him out with ropes.

The river, rushing down towards Niagara Falls, moves really fast.

“Once you get out into the main channel, it’s very treacherous. Very fast moving.”

“The river is so dangerous that fire department had positioned a boat on the other side of the Peace Bridge in case the victim or one of the firefighters got swept away by the current.”

On Wednesday, emergency responders rescued a 25-year old man who fell 30 feet down the gorge at the Niagara Glen. They risked their own lives to climb down the steep embankment, stabilize him and lift him out by helicopter. And it can be dangerous down there.

Chief Lee Smith is with the Niagara Falls Fire Dept: “If they’re off the trail and start to travel in uncharted areas they could be in an area that puts them in danger. And they trip on a piece of loose rock and fall. And it’s very easy to break a leg. Twist an ankle. And you can’t make it back up the hill.”

Niagara Falls fire and the parks police rescued 10 people from the gorge last year alone.

“There are trails marked there. And they’re marked for a reason. Stay on the trail.”