1/23/2007

Chattanooga firefighters were called to Veteran's Bridge around 5:30 Tuesday afternoon to rescue a reported "high fall victim."  Officers with the Chattanooga Police Department's Bike Patrol were the first on the scene.  Officer Jason Wagnon and his partners searched underneath the east side of the bridge and eventually found a 32-year-old man lying on the ground.  Wagnon said the victim was conscious, but moaning in pain and asking for someone to call 9-1-1.  Chattanooga firefighters and an ambulance with Hamilton County EMS arrived on the scene, but the steep terrain prevented the paramedics from moving the victim.

After conferring with the paramedics, Battalion Chief Mack Moore determined that the best way to get the victim to an ambulance would be to lift him up to the bridge.  Members of the fire department's Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team responded to the scene and immediately began setting up the rescue ropes, pulleys and stoke's basket.  Within 50 minutes, the firefighters lifted the victim up to a waiting ambulance on Veteran's Bridge.  "We've been training for this kind of technical rescue situation for months," said Chief Moore.  "This situation put those skills to the test, and those firefighters passed with flying colors."

The victim appears to have fallen 40 to 50 feet from the bridge.  The victim told Officer Wagnon that he was looking over the bridge's railing and "fell over."  The circumstances surrounding his fall are still being investigated by Chattanooga Police.  As of Wednesday morning, the victim was listed in stable condition at Erlanger Medical Center.  

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