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It was a busy day for emergency personnel in Ithaca on Saturday April 22nd, as Ithaca Fire and Bangs Ambulance responded to two gorge rescue calls in two hours.
Around 5:20 Saturday, the Ithaca Fire Department along with Bangs Ambulance were called to the 30 foot dam at Six Mile Creek for a report of an unconscious person who had been swimming.
Once emergency personnel arrived, they found the patient in “serious medical distress” and determined they had to be evacuated from the gorge. Firefighters used a stokes basket, ropes, and a winch to remove the patient from the gorge and place them in the ambulance waiting.
As this rescue was taking place, a hiker informed personnel of a group of individuals further down the trail yelling for help.
Once the first patient was secured, firefighters responded to the area of the trail where someone was yelling for help to find an individual stuck on a steep slope. Crews used ropes to make access to the stuck individual, and were then able to safely remove them.
Firefighters assisted the group out of the Six Mile Creek natural area afterwards. Ithaca Fire says both operations took about two hours.
Assisting the Ithaca Fire Department was Bangs Ambulance, and the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office. The fire department reminds those planning to visit the gorges and natural areas to remain on trails, do not swim in unsafe areas, carry a cell phone, and know where you are if the event comes you need help.
