Firefighters rescued a climber who was injured after falling 60 feet off the Rimrocks at Swords Park, and later rescued a dog near the airport Tuesday night.
Around 8 p.m. Tuesday, a man in his 20s was rappelling off the Rimrocks in an area called "Devil's Kitchen" when he missed the rope and fell about 60 feet, according to Billings Fire Battalion Chief Kevin Johnson. Two of the climber's friends who were with him had to be harnessed and hoisted up. The rescue was complete by about 10 p.m.
Sam Heady, who wasn't climbing and was watching from above, called 9-1-1 after he saw his friend fall.
"He was just telling me that he was feeling good and that he was glad to be outside," Heady said.
Rescuers took a gurney down to where the man had fallen, secured him on the gurney and took him to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The Billings Fire Department and American Medical Response were on scene.
After the climber was taken care of, crews made their way over to a separate call to rescue a dog stuck in a crack in the Rims. Firefighters were eventually able to snare the dog after luring it into a better position by using treats and water, Battalion Chief Jason Lyon said Wednesday morning. The battalion chief said he believed crews had finished their work on the Rims by about midnight.
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