On 11 November 2016 Apollo Bay Fire Brigade was called to a high-angle vertical rescue.
Apollo Bay turned out three appliances, with 13 members on board. Additionally, there was one member from Wye River, a Deputy Group officer and the support of Geelong City’s high-angle rescue team. This attendance was a tremendous effort for daytime response.
A tourist called emergency services at around 9.15am explaining she had sighted a man at the bottom of a 100m cliff at Cape Patton Lookout, near Wongarra south-west of Wye River. A notorious place for accidents and only a few years prior Apollo Bay attended a similar high-angle rescue at this location.
Crews, including specialist rope rescuers from Apollo Bay brigade, took four hours to save the man, who had been at the bottom of the cliff since Thursday night. The man was conscious when rescuers arrived and he explained to them he was knocked unconscious during the fall and had crawled to a clearing to wait for help. The man sustained head, chest, leg and back injuries and was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition.
Paramedics said they were amazed the man survived. He was extremely lucky the tourist spotted him and used her camera lens to zoom in to see the extent of his injuries.
Yet again Apollo Bay brigade members have used their highly-developed skills and continue to provide outstanding service to their community and CFA.
Author: Amy Boyd