Army Paratroopers Stranded in Trees Rescued in Wash.
Source The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.
Emergency personnel came to the rescue of two Army paratroopers who got hung up when wind blew them into trees during a training jump Thursday afternoon near Rainier, according to a news release.
Neither paratrooper was seriously injured. The incident occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m.
The Joint Base Lewis-McChord fire department used a ground ladder to retrieve a male paratrooper who was stuck more than 30 feet in the air.
But they had to wait for the Thurston County Special Operations Rescue Team to rescue the female paratrooper, who was between 70 and 75 feet off the ground, Lacey fire battalion chief Steve Crimmins said.
The team includes firefighters from six fire agencies equipped and trained for rescues on steep slopes and in trenches, collapsed buildings and trees.
Firefighters were able to position a ladder truck close enough to get the female paratrooper.
The rescue took about an hour, Crimmins said, and occurred about a half-mile from 123rd Avenue Southeast and Military Road, a short distance from the small Thurston County city.
Copyright 2012 - The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
