Gwyneth K. Shaw Photo
Chief Grant at Friday’s press conference, with Assistant Chiefs Black and Egan and Mayor DeStefano, as well as some of the firefighters who worked on the rescue.
Climbing the face of East Rock, Firefighter Jim Kearney was just below Lt. Jay Schwartz and just above Firefighter Miguel Rosado Jr. Not far above them was a terrified young woman, wedged into a crevice and howling that she couldn’t hold on much longer.
Pushing to reach the trapped woman, Schwartz lost his footing and tumbled as Kearney and Rosado watched in horror. He plunged 60 to 70 feet down the side of the rock, hitting other outcroppings before coming to a stop.
His colleagues tried to stabilize him. It was obvious Schwartz’s ankle was fractured; the lieutenant was “in extreme agony,” Kearney said, and clearly going into shock.
Then the rocks started coming down. Rosado was hit; he’d leave the scene in an ambulance, as would Schwartz. Suddenly, a precarious operation had morphed into two rescues — and the woman, a Yale student, was still in peril.
Those details emerged Friday afternoon as fire officials invited the press for an update on the story everyone’s talking about: the dramatic rescue of a Yale student on East Rock Thursday afternoon, an incident in which three firefighters were hurt.
Fire Chief Michael Grant described the climax of the tense scene this way: Firefighter John Cretella got himself in front of the stranded woman, and was swinging back and forth. He told her he’d count to three, and then she should jump. She did, and he caught her, hanging on long enough to get down to a waiting Capt. Matt Marcarelli, and all three made it down.
Grant compared Cretella’s swings to those of a trapeze artist, as he hailed the efforts of everyone involved.
“He looked like one of the Flying Wallendas. Or he should be in Cirque de Soleil,” the chief said.
Firefighter Kearney, at right, watched Lt. Schwartz fall and helped stabilize him.
The woman emerged unscathed. And the compound fracture of Schwartz’s ankle, while serious, appears to be the extent of his injuries. He’s itching to get back to work, although it’s unclear when that might be, Grant said.
Rosado was treated and released Thursday night, but was back at the hospital Friday for further evaluation, Grant said.
The rescue left Grant, Kearney and others shaken, but proud.
“We could easily have been burying him today,” Kearney said of Schwartz, with whom he’s worked for 16 of his 17 years with the department. “He came down right in front of us.”
Grant recalled hearing the radio transmission from Schwartz, just after his fall: “I’m hurt, Chief.”
And yet, the team pressed on, finishing the job they’d come to do.
“I am totally convinced that had we not taken the actions that we did, that young lady would have died,” Grant said.
Those who worked on the rescue utilized special training that is rarely needed, but often practiced. Grant said the firefighters trained in rope work spend time rappelling from bridges, or even just tying knots over and over again until they become part of the muscle memory.
“It’s not something you do one time,” Grant said. “It has to be an involuntary action.”
A group of those who worked on the operation stood behind Grant and Mayor John DeStefano at Friday’s press conference; DeStefano congratulated the department on “a great save.”
As for the young woman and her companion, who face an Oct. 19 court date for reckless endangerment charges, Grant said they weren’t climbers bent on scaling the rock.
“From what I understand, they were just out for a walk,” he said. “Nice day, I guess.”
Thank goodness no one was killed. Thank you NHFD.