CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – When an Albemarle resident’s evening hike with their pet in the western portion of the county resulted in the person becoming stranded in icy, mountainous terrain, Albemarle County Fire Rescue’s technical rescue team went to work.
“They ended up setting up some extensive rope systems to both climb and to make the ascent and access the individual, and then setting up rescue or rope systems to help lower everybody back down,” ACFR battalion chief Phillip Burkett told Cville Right Now. “That one was fairly complex, and people were wearing typical rope rescue harnesses, and they were clipped in the whole time. It was a lot like a mountaineering adventure.”
The Jan. 25 snow and ice storm that buried much of the Albemarle County and Charlottesville area has created some different strains on emergency responders in the region, who are utilizing rope and harness systems and rescue sleds to aide injured and stranded people…