NFPA Journal - Spring 2024 - 16

Dispatches Oddities
HUH?
RECENT HEADSCRATCHERS
FROM
THE WORLD OF FIRE
AND LIFE SAFETY
RUBY TO THE RESCUE
A 65-year-old man from Traverse City,
Michigan, has his loyal canine companion
to thank for getting him out of
a freezing lake. The man fell through
thin ice into Arbutus Lake in January,
but rescuers were unable to get to
him or even reach him with a rescue
disc due to ice conditions.
But the man's dog, Ruby, ran up to
responders and seemed game to give
it a try. Responders tied the disc to
her collar and sent her back out on
the ice. The man was able to retrieve
the disc from Ruby's collar and was
pulled to safety after about 15 minutes
in the freezing water. He was brought
to the hospital and later released
with nonserious injuries.
FUN, UNTIL IT
WASN'T
In September, a ride called
" The Lumberjack, " an amusement
park attraction in
Ontario, Canada, malfunctioned
and left passengers
suspended upside down, 75
feet above the ground, for
nearly 30 minutes.
The ride, which has two
hydraulic arms that swing
back and forth and upside
down, abruptly stopped
moving while inverted just
before 10:40 p.m., according
to NPR. Bystanders filmed
efforts to rescue the dangling
passengers; in one clip, park
staff ask the riders through
a megaphone, " Is everyone
doing OK up there? " The
riders shout back " No! " in
near-unison. According to the
CBC, at least one rider vomited
during the ordeal.
About 25 minutes into the
stoppage, workers got the
attraction going again, but it
had to cycle through the rest
of the ride before it could stop
to let passengers off. " The ride
kept going and we're all like,
'No, please, I don't want to get
stuck again!' " an 11-year-old
passenger told NPR.
16 | NFPA JOURNAL * SPRING 2024
CRANE MAN
The British press gave a crane
operator a well-deserved new
moniker in November after he
pulled off a daring rescue in
the English city of Reading.
Crane operator Glen
Edwards, 65, said he was just
about to break for lunch when
he heard fire alarms, then
saw smoke and a man atop
a building waving his coat.
He carefully hoisted a rescue
cage, which was attached to
his crane perched 65 feet (20
meters) in the air, to the roof
to get the victim down. The
trapped man " had about 2
square meters (21 square feet)
to stand, the wind was swirling
around, I had a job to get
the cage there, " Edwards told
the television news program
" Good Morning Britain, " which
dubbed Edwards the " Bruce
Willis of Reading " because
the actor is Edwards'
favorite action star.
Edwards told the program
that he " couldn't see a thing "
during the rescue because of
the thick smoke and relied on
radio communications from
coworkers on the ground to
help him position the rescue
cage and carefully lower it to
the ground. " When I landed
the rescue cradle, as he just
touched down, I could feel the
weight. I could hear the crowd,
but I couldn't see him. I was
100 percent blind, " Edwards
said. " [Once] I landed him
on the ground safely, I had a
job to stand up after, put it
that way. I was really shaken. I
needed a quiet minute to get
myself together. "
TOILET TROUBLE
In January, a man aboard a domestic airline flight in India was
trapped in the commode for more than an hour due to a broken
bathroom door lock.
Crewmembers aboard the SpiceJet flight from Mumbai to Bengaluru
communicated with the trapped passenger by slipping him
notes under the door. One note, passed just before landing, was
shared widely on social media: " Secure yourself, " it read. " As soon
as the main door is open, engineer will come. Do not panic. "
The man was freed upon landing and received medical support,
according to a statement by SpiceJet, a private airline in India. For
his troubles, the man scored a refund on his fare. Here's betting
that next time he makes a pit stop in the terminal before boarding.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: TIKTOK/@JIASHIRA; MICHIGAN STATE POLICE VIA AP; GETTYIMAGES (2)
NFPA Journal - Spring 2024

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