Students Rescued from Stalled Roller Coaster in Galveston, TX
Galveston fire and rescue crews rescued eight students stranded on a roller coaster.
The Iron Shark at Pleasure Pier came to a stop on the ascent stranding the youths near the top
Using a tower truck to reach the coaster, rescue crews secured each student in a harness, slid them out of their seats and into the bucket for the trip down, KHOU reported.
It was a slow, methodical process that took about 20 minutes per student. The operation took about four hours.
Galveston Fire Chief Mike Varela said the six-member crew trains for rescues of this nature.
"Those guys were top notch today on point and got all eight down. I can't say enough about them. They're well trained and they're ready to go when called on."
The pier was set up just in case firefighters needed to access the area for such a rescue.
"We knew one day we may have to get to the back of this pier, and they went ahead and they reinforced that middle layer that that street basically we can go down around the carousel. It was designed strictly for us to get equipment back there."
The charter school students, who were on a field trip, were checked by medical personnel. All were OK.
About the Author
Susan Nicol
News Editor
Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.