News

Emergency personnel rescue man stuck in mud

By Bill Moss, Published: July 9, 2014

Hendersonville firefighters and police used a rare mud rescue on the Friday when they got a call about a 10-year-old boy and then an adult stuck in the mud at the Jackson Park sewer line project beside the Oklawaha Greenway, the Fire Department said in a news release.

Emergency personnel responded at 4:30 p.m. on the Fourth of July about the boy who had become stuck in deep soft mud at the construction site. By the time they arrived the boy had been rescued but the man who got him out had himself become stuck.

"The adult male was not hurt but was becoming extremely weak," a news release said. "Fire Department personnel initiated a rescue and advised the male patient not to move any further which prevented him from sinking further. Fire Department personnel proceeded to access the victim by placing backboards across the mud to distribute their weight. Once at the victim the rescuers were able to dig out the area around the victim's legs and pull him up and out of the mud. Both the adult male and juvenile male were assessed for injuries and none were found."

The fire department warned that mud can be dangerous and adivsed what to do if encountering the situation:

"While mud rescues are rare it is important for the public to know how dangerous these situations can be. The best way to prevent an accident is to avoid areas where flooding is frequent because the ground is saturated which makes moving over it difficult. If you find yourself in a situation where you are stuck in the mud the first thing you should do is remain calm. Do not panic, do not struggle and do not flail about. These things can only cause you to become weaker and sink even deeper and quicker into the mud.

"Avoid trying to lift one foot as this will place all of your weight on the other foot, and cause you to sink deeper. To help distribute your weight you should drop to your hands and knees. If you continue to sink be prepared to move to a crawling or even lying position to help distribute your weight more evenly. You should then attempt to move back in the direction you came from distributing your weight as much as possible. If you are able to access your phone during an incident of this nature then call 911 immediately in order to get help on the way. For further information please contact the Hendersonville Fire Department at 828-697-3024."