Swift Water Rescue

A very dramatic rescue as a man is given a second chance after plunging headfirst into a rain swollen flood control channel during heavy Southern California rains... The man survives by virtue of his strength, ability to keep his perspective, and his will to live. The firefighters did a good job on the downstream side also.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Technical
• Rescue
• Swift
• Water
• fire
• firefighting
• LAFD
• L.A
• County

[88keysinarow]

looks, like a broken left ankle,

what caused the lose of grip, just wondering

[toastt21]

They pulled the rope out of hands at the top...too much adrenaline on everyone's part...no broken bones tho!

[hugginsd2]

1. no one should be by the water without a PFD and a helmet.

2. No bunker gear near the water. If you fall in you drown,

3. Lifting the guy out of the water like they did created more danger to the pt. They drop him on the cement he loses consciousness and now hes unresponsive.

4. I saw one guy down stream. With one throw bag.

5. They got lucky as all hell

[razerbaz]

Being a swift water rescue tech is fine if your on scene,but we only have one team in the county,firefighters need to be trained in the basics of swift water.

[ChadC919]

Teamwork and knowing how to use your equipment. Professionalism at its best.

[Core404]

They needed to grab him at the edge of the bridge, not have 10 guys pull the rope out of his hands, But chits crazy in the moment.

[howrude88]

HES In the water.... water... water

[princesskatiecakes]

@GUMMYBEAYUH

water in flood channels moves far to fast to even consider a baited rescue. as an SRT level 3 i can tell you that they'd probably sooner loose the guy than send someone in there after him

[GUMMYBEAYUH]

@walkerte3 Talking about more intense water, the swift water rescue team that I'm looking at possibly joining nearby, they work the falls and dam at Great Falls, VA. That water can be insane, and even as an experienced whitewater canoeist and proficient kayaker, I would never attempt it.

[GUMMYBEAYUH]

As long as I had a line attached to myself, I wouldn't have minded jumping in and grabbing the guy. I've done plenty of whitewater, and swim in the ocean a lot, so it's a familiar environment. I'm glad you guys didn't have to resort to that, though. Not only did your effort pay off, but the Big Guy above must've been looking out as well.

[sw3210]

@hugginsd2 all good point. also helps to have pants :)

[shepherdsfire535]

i think ill use my next victims fingers as my edge protection and tell him to hold on tight. i hope everyone can use this video as a what not to do and learn from this poor naked jay birds experience...i personally like the audio from 29 secconds into it..."hes in the water"

[walkerte3]

@hunkgod actually, swift water is any fast moving water. I have seen rescue situations in much more intense water than this, that were executed with much more grace.

[walkerte3]

@razerbaz So right! So much there could have gone really wrong, just knowing some basics would have made that a much safer situation. And damn, those guys ripped the rope right out of his hands!!!