Fly Creek firefighters
rescue highway crewman
from collapsed culvert
By KEVIN LIMITI • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
FLY CREEK — Assistant fire chiefs Jess Lanza and Henry Hight responded to a call that saved a town highway crewman's life on Tuesday, July 13.
A crewman had gotten his boots stuck in a culvert in the area of Christian Hill after a beaver dam collapse caused rushing water to drag him into the collapsed and damaged pipe.
"It was actually just a mile from my house, so I was first on the scene," Lanza said.
There he found two people holding the man from the water.
"We needed to essentially sling him and prevent him from going any further," Lanza said.
The firefighters used a rescue sling which was able to hoist him up. Less than a minute afterwards, an ambulance arrived, which took him to the hospital. The crewman was "visibly exhausted," but they say he only suffered minor injuries.
"It was a big relief when we got him about," Hight said.
