UPPER CHICHESTER, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Emergency personnel staged a heroic water rescue Tuesday night during the height of the severe weather, as members of the Delaware County Water Rescue Task Force were able to reach a man swept away in a current.
Officials say 911 dispatchers got the call around 11 p.m. from a man who got caught in a fast-moving creek. He managed to climb a tree to call for help — with about 2% power left on his phone.
Director of Emergency Services Timothy Boyce says within three minutes of locating the man's position, first responders were on the scene.
“The team was able to enter … the creek, which was flowing very dramatically, and affect the rescue,” said Boyce.
The task force is made up of first responders from all over the county, trained to perform rescues in dangerous water, according to Capt. Matthew McCormick with the Aston Township Fire Department.
“They used a rope to make a line over. With that, we transferred a life jacket over to the victim for safety. As we did that, crews from Aston, Chester Heights used their surfboard. We tied a rope to that. Crews from Chester Heights and Aston entered the water,” he explained.
As McCormick adds, the rescue operation was dangerous not only for the man in trouble but for trained rescuers as well.
“The danger with running water is that it's uncontrollable. So the current that goes with that is sweeping between your legs and everything else, it could take you and sweep you,” he said. “It's actually very dangerous to go into the water, but in order to make this rescue, that was the thought to go and that's how we went about it.”
Officials say the man was taken to the hospital. His injuries were not life-threatening.