Crime & Safety

Canton Firefighters, EMTs Assist in Water Rescue

Crews also responded to river area Friday night.

By Jessie Sawyer and John Fitts 

Members of the town of Canton Volunteer Fire and EMS Department assisted in the rescue of a teen from the Farmington River in Avon Saturday night. 

The local teenager was injured after jumping off "lower dam" that straddles Burlington and Avon and had an uninjured friend with her, officials said. 

The Avon Volunteer Fire Department led the rescue efforts, which took about three hours. Two Avon police officers, paramedics from American Medical Response, the Canton Volunteer Fire and EMS Department, Burlington Ambulance, Burlington firefighters and the Simsbury Fire Department rope rescue team also responded to the 9:38 p.m. incident. 

The multi-town rescue team made "three attempts to evacuate the injured party from river side of the incident" and could not reach "the rescue point due to low water and rocks," Avon Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Trick said. Avon had a crew trying to access the individuals from the "east side of the river" as Burlington and Canton firefighters "launched boats as well from the west."

The victim was at the base of the 15-foot concrete wall, partially in the water, said Craig Robbins, deputy chief of fire for the town of Canton Fire and EMS Department.

"This was a particularly difficult operation, as the only access to the victim was over a very narrow wall with steep drops on either side," Robbins said. 

Avon, Burlington, and Canton had to go far downstream to launch the boats, which due to low water level and rocks, proved difficult, Robbins said. 

Canton and Burlington make it to the scene, but got caught on multiple rocks getting there. Officials were also concerned with placing the victim and friend in the boats due to those conditions and the rope team was utilized. 

"The Simsbury rope team was able to lift the patient to the top of the dam and then carry them to a point that an all-terrain utility vehicle made the final trip to the end of Blanchard [Road]," Trick said. 

The injured party was retrieved and taken to an American Medical Response ambulance at 12:04 a.m. Sunday to be transported to an area hospital, Trick said. The other teen was not injured.

Information on the extent of the person's injuries and the patient's condition was not immediately available. 

The Farmington River rescue took place toward the end of Blanchard Road in Avon near "an abandoned power plant," accessible by a gravel road and path near a series of old buildings," Trick wrote in an email to Patch. He said that the area "is a popular place for young people to gather."

Trick, the incident commander, said that Bruce Appell, Avon's assistant fire chief in charge of operations, "supervised the rescue operation with the assistance of Avon, Canton, and Simsbury providing the personnel." 

"Each department had officers that coordinated their efforts to achieve a successful outcome," Trick said. 

As the weather gets warmer and the summer approaches, Trick warns people to be careful along the river.

"The Farmington River is a beautiful place to visit and enjoy but caution must be exercised when exploring this area, especially at night," Trick said. 

The operations can be difficult from many aspects, Robbins said. On Saturday night, the emergency call came in as an injured swimmer below the dam, causing rescuers to have to determine if it were the upper or lower dam. 

"The biggest difficulty we face on these calls is usually locating the victims," Robbins said. "Many times the callers are not familiar with the area, and many of the landmarks can be confusing."

On Friday night, less than 24 hours before the rescue, officials also received a call referencing people stuck in the river but no exact location was given. 

The two were eventually found on New Road in Avon after they left the river and walked through the woods. They were evaluated by AMR and a Canton ambulance crew. 

"The biggest hurdle in this call was locating the victims, and confirming we had everyone, since they came from a larger group and spanned both sides of the river," Robbins said of the Friday night incident. "We had conflicting reports on how many people were actually missing."



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