Pittsfield Township man hospitalized after falling down 10-foot creek embankment
A Pittsfield Township man was hospitalized today after spending two hours in a creek when he fell down a 10-foot embankment in his backyard.
Pittsfield Township firefighters and Huron Valley Ambulance paramedics were called to the 600 block of Sawgrass Lane around 11:30 a.m. after neighbors heard the man yelling down the street.
Fire Cmdr. Sean Gleason said the man, estimated to be in his 70s, was working in his backyard this morning when he somehow fell down the creek embankment, which was steep and muddy due to the rain. Gleason said the man had been yelling for help for two hours.
When help arrived, Gleason said it took a team of 13 firefighters and paramedics to get the man out using a rope system.
“We were mostly concerned with injuries and possible hypothermia,” he said.
Gleason said paramedics stabilized the man and put him on a backboard connected to ropes from above to lift him out. He estimated the bank to be at a 75-degree incline and said the water was about “knee deep.”
"It was basically all mud," he said.
Gleason said it took the team 15 to 20 minutes to get the man out of the creek before he was taken to the University of Michigan Hospital.
The man's condition was not available this afternoon, but Gleason said he was alert and coherent during the entire process.
Gleason said the man was fortunate his neighbors heard him.
“If they wouldn’t have heard him and found him, he probably would have ended up much worse,” he said. “He’s lucky."
Erica Hobbs is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2537 or via e-mail at ericahobbs@annarbor.com.
Comments
redblue
Fri, Jun 4, 2010 : 11:18 p.m.
Obviously yohan is an idiot,and has never been involved in an actual rescue with a trapped patient.as a Paramedic I can tell you first hand it sucks,and their is no easy way to get it done! Their will always be morons like yohan that sit behind a computer screen and criticize everything that they read or hear about to make them feel like they actually have a life.
krc
Thu, Jun 3, 2010 : 8:16 a.m.
Hooray for our medics and firefighters! They are dedicated to saving lives. yohan, imagine the scenario: An elderly man in knee deep water at the bottom of a steep, muddy enbankment. As a precaution, he is backboarded. This is easy to do on level ground and usually takes two or three rescuers to accomplish. Try doing it in the water and then keeping it afloat with the patient on it. As for pulling him up the embankment, have you ever noticed how a chair or something seems to weigh three times as much when you are carrying it up the stairs? Same principle here. Imagine pulling it up this steep and slippery embankment. This man probably weighed as much or more than a couch. This rescue was successful, thanks to these men and women. So quit yer bitchin'.
tdw
Thu, Jun 3, 2010 : 5:25 a.m.
@yohan Would you please state where your expertise in rescue comes from?
halflight
Wed, Jun 2, 2010 : 10:51 p.m.
@yohan: Why does it take a crew of 13 to get a guy out of a ditch? Maybe because it's difficult to move an injured 70 year old man without doing more injury? The fact that they had to construct a rope system to do it suggests that it was more difficult than strapping him to a board and hauling him up the bank.
yohan
Wed, Jun 2, 2010 : 8:40 p.m.
Why does it take a crew of 13 to get a guy out of a ditch? 4 or 5 or even 6 rescue workers should have been enough. I bet there were a lot of highly paid rescue workers standing around with their hands in their pockets. I am glad the victim got out OK. It seems the only real damage was to the taxpayers wallets.