[ back ]
Boy Scouts rescued after falling from cliff
(by Barbara Christian - July 21, 2010)
Boy Scouts rescued after falling from cliff
By BARBARA CHRISTIAN
The Chagrin Falls Fire Department rescue squad was dispatched at 8:40 p.m. July 14 to the Quarry Rock Picnic Area in Bentleyville on a report that two Boy Scouts had fallen 40 feet from a ledge and were injured.
The victims were 11 and 17 years old, according to the report. The trail they were on is on the western riverbank of the picnic area of the Cleveland Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation.
To reach the injured Scouts, rescuers, carrying their equipment, climbed down the shale embankment from the opposite side of the river and then crossed over.
The boys were treated at the location while a rope-rescue-hauling system was set up, according to Assistance Fire Chief Mark Vedder.
Both boys were splinted, placed on backboards and carried in basket stretchers across the river to the hauling system and pulled up the side of the cliff. The rescue took 45 minutes, Mr. Vedder said.
The two injured youths told rescuers they were hiking with other Scouts and their leaders when the trail gave way underfoot, causing them to fall down the side of the cliff.
They were transported to Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights.
Rescuers then returned to the other side of the river to rescue the remaining 13 Scouts and four leaders. None were injured, but they were trapped on the same ledge from which the boys fell, Mr. Vedder said.
Because it was getting dark, a different strategy had to be used to reach the group, he said. Light towers on the rescue trucks were set up for the second rescue operation.
Mutual aid was provided by the Solon Fire Department, and its 35-foot, 200-pound extension ladder was lowered by rope down the embankment, along with four rescuers. The squad crossed the river and raised the ladder straight up the side of the cliff to the trail above.
One by one, the boys and their leaders were helped down the ladder, along with their packs and sleeping bags. Then each was guided across the river and climbed the east embankment with assistance from firefighters and a rope.
All 13 Scouts and four leaders were accounted for and checked out. None were injured, Mr. Vedder reported.
Firefighters then retrieved the ladder from the opposite side of the river and hoisted it back up with the hauling system used in the rescue.
The Chagrin Falls Suburban Fire Department took charge of the operation with support from Bentleyville police, the Solon Fire Department and park rangers. In all, 20 rescuers participated at the scene.
"We usually perform one or two technical rescues in the Metropark each year, but this is the first time I remember having so many victims needing help at the same time," Mr. Vedder said.
Names of the injured Scouts, their troop number and hometown were not immediately available.
[ back ]
