Sitka’s Search and Rescue team used a rolling litter last week to rescue an injured hiker who fell through a broken railing on a footbridge.
Hunter said ten volunteers and two fire hall staff responded to the call. They found the hiker around a mile and a half down the trail and brought him back to the trailhead on a rolling litter.
“The litter wheel is basically one big ATV tire that is underneath the center of the litter,” Hunter said. “So it allows us to go over anything from large rocks to boardwalk steps, if it makes a relatively cushy right in the litter and then allows us put most of the weight on that tire.” Hunter said it took nine people carrying the litter around two-and-a-half hours to make it back to the trailhead. Still, the relatively flat trail made it a bit easier — rescues can be much more challenging on other hikes.
“If someone gets hurt on Gavin or Verstovia, it’s going to be hours and require more people, because it is exhausting work,” Hunter said. “Thankfully, we have a great crew, and working as a team we can do stuff that can’t be done individually, so it’s fulfilling to help someone and not just train.” The rescue team made it back to the trailhead shortly after 7 p.m., where an ambulance met them to take the hiker to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center.KCAW is our partner station in Sitka. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.Get notifications about news related to the topics you care about. You can unsubscribe anytime.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Firefighters rescue residents, pets from 3-alarm apartment fire in AllentownFirefighters went door-to-door to rescue everyone inside, including many of the residents' pets.
Read more »
Good Samaritans rescue 6-year-old child from abduction attempt at Ohio festivalSeveral volunteers and witnesses are being credited with saving a child from an abduction attempt that occurred at a fundraising festival in Ohio.
Read more »
Take a Deep Breath for Claustrophobic Trailer for Ron Howard's Cave Rescue Film Thirteen LivesThe strong central cast includes Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton, playing the men who planned the rescue of a youth soccer team from the flooded cave system.
Read more »
California firefighters rescue puppies trapped in tortoise denFire crews in California came to the rescue of two puppies that were stuck for hours in a tortoise den in Yucca Valley.
Read more »
Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell Play Divers in Thai Cave Rescue in ‘Thirteen Lives’ TrailerThe first trailer for Ron Howard’s ThirteenLives, about the rescue mission to save 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooding Thai cave, has been released
Read more »
Trooper crawls into drainage pipe to rescue missing dogA missing golden retriever named Lilah, discovered deep inside a culvert pipe, could not be lured out by her owner with treats. In the end, State Trooper Jimmy Rasaphone decided to crawl about 15 feet into the pipe to rescue Lilah.
Read more »