Difficult rescue for Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) were called to an incident at Garras Wharf, Truro at 1052 hours yesterday (January 6^th 2015) involving a ninety three year old male who had accidentally driven his mobility scooter off the side of the quay and fallen 15 – 20 feet into the mud and water below.

The alarm was raised by a member of the public who witnessed the incident and on arrival CFRS discovered an elderly male trapped in the mud below. Due to the nature of the incident C-Spine injuries were suspected and this was a major factor in the rescue methods deployed.

The incident involved several hazards including the mud banks, the height from the road way to the scene of the rescue, the tidal flow and accessibility. The main priorities were the safety of the casualty, crews and the public as well as other attending services due to the nature of the incident and the location.

CFRS deployed two appliances and an aerial ladder platform (ALP) from Truro in addition to technical rescue teams from St Austell and Falmouth. The incident was also attended by the Coastguard, Police, Port Authority and the Ambulance Service.

Following specialist advice from the Ambulance Service it was decided to utilise the ALP from Truro to carry out a vertical extrication due to the nature of suspected injuries and the access issues.

The casualty was conveyed to hospital via road ambulance where his condition is stable.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Phil Martin said, ‘The hard work and professionalism demonstrated by all attending emergency services ensured that we were able to achieve a positive outcome to this difficult and unfortunate incident.’