SCRANTON, Pa. — Members of the Scranton Fire Department spent nearly two hours trying to rescue a man who had fallen down into Roaring Brook near Nay Aug Park Monday afternoon.
"From what he told us, he was actually walking on the Central Scranton Expressway. He must have been on the other side of the guardrail and fell down the embankment, then rolled and tumbled down the hill, over top of a rock ledge, and down into the water," said Scranton Fire Department Chief John Judge.
Crews were able to get the man up to safety. He was taken to the hospital with several injuries.
In the summer months, Scranton Fire Chief John Judge says the rescue team is called to Nay Aug Park a lot for water rescues.
Many are people who are swimming illegally. Chief Judge says the anticipation of getting those calls keeps him up at night.
"They're very staff intensive, they're dangerous for our responders, and they take a lot of technical expertise to have a successful rescue," said Chief Judge.
Chief Judge says the rescue crews do a lot of preplanning every spring. They survey the area, marking out pathways and safe locations for rescue.
"We have a couple of different points where we know we can get them out. The plans we put into place, I think we had him out in about an hour which is really good," explained Chief Judge.
There are surveillance cameras that are monitored by Scranton Police and signs warning people of the dangers, but that doesn't always deter people from swimming in the gorge.
"If you're going up to visit, stay on marked pathways, enjoy the beauty of the area, but just realize it's very dangerous, and you're not just putting yourself in danger, you're putting our rescuers in danger as well," Chief Judge said.
The name and condition of the rescued man have not been released.
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