'Time was not in our favor,' Cordova, SC, Fire Chief Says of River Rescue
"Time was not in our favor."
That's what prompted Cordova Fire Chief Kyle Hardison and Firefighter Jackson Giacomarro to quickly devise a plan to rescue a man from the chilly Edisto River on New Year's Eve.
While they could hear the man, who became stranded while trying to help his dog, but couldn't see him, the chief told the Times & Democrat.
After hiking a bit, they saw him holding onto a tree limb. He said he was weak and very, very cold.
The two realized they couldn't wait for water rescue teams or a dive boat. They had to act.
The victim was encouraged to jump to vines along the shore. "I told him I'd jump in the water, grab him and swim to him," the chief recalled adding that in a matter of seconds the man did has requested.
Once at shore, Giacomarro pulled the man out of the water.
They learned that the victim fell in the river trying to get one of his dogs out.
Hardison said the dogs were located OK a short distance away.
