Crime & Safety

Hiker Recovering From Injuries After Fall

Fredericksburg Fire Department said it took about an hour to rescue a man who fell from a cliff 30 feet to the ground at Alum Springs Park on Sunday.

The 23-year-old man who fell from a cliff while hiking at on Sunday was not seriously injured, fire officials said today.

Mike Jones, the Fredericksburg Fire Department spokesman, said the 911 call came at 3:03 p.m. and Fredericksburg Fire Department personnel with members of the Fredericksburg Rescue Squad performed the rescue. The man was transported to with non-life-threatening injuries.

"Initially a medic unit from Fredericksburg Rescue Squad and an engine company from the Fire Department were sent," Jones said. "With updated information provided to the exact location and potential injuries to the patient, the call was upgraded to include the city’s ladder truck crew for their extensive rescue equipment and basket stretcher."

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The area where the man fell while hiking with his girlfriend is about 250 yards from the parking lot. When the medics got to the scene, they saw the man 30 feet below near the water's edge.

"Fire and Rescue personnel were able to make their way down to the victim and began an assessment of his condition," Jones said. "He was awake and orientated throughout the rescue process and able to tell rescuers of his condition. Due to the potential of serious injuries, the patient was completely immobilized on a long board stretcher and placed in a Stokes basket litter for removal."

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The slope was steep and the fire department crews and medics had to use an rope-and-pulley system to bring the victim back to the trail. .

"Once the patient and rescuers were back up the hill and on the path, the patient was carried to a waiting ambulance by personnel from Fredericksburg Fire Department and Fredericksburg Rescue Squad. The entire rescue took about one hour to complete from time of arrival until the patient was on his way to the hospital," Jones said.


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