Canton Firefighters, EMTs Rescue Patient From Vehicle on Steep River Bank

Members of the town of Canton Volunteer Fire and EMS Department spent more than an hour early Sunday morning rescuing a patient from a car that had gone over the bank at Torrington Avenue and Bridge Street. 

Minutes after 1 a.m., police and emergency personnel were called to the scene for a report of a vehicle in the water, according to police and fire officials.

When they arrived the vehicle was down a steep bank at the edge of the Farmington River with one person inside.

Approximately 20 members of the volunteer fire department worked at the scene with assistance from University of Connecticut paramedics. The patient was transported to the University of Connecticut Medical Center with minor injuries, police said.

During the incident, fire police closed Torrington Avenue while other volunteer fire department members worked at the scene. 

The incident involved an approximate 20-foot vertical drop and required rescue equipment and the use of the department's ATV trailer, Utility 8, Ladder 2, Rescue 9 and Car 10 (Canton's main ambulance).  

Command of the rescue scene was initially taken by Capt. Wayne Goeben and later transferred to department chief Richard Hutchings. 

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.