A Paterson (NJ) man was clinging to a tree amidst the surging waters of the Passaic River in the wake of Hurricane Irene until firefighters finally managed to rescue him after several failed attempts on Tuesday.
The incident began in the early morning when an area police officer saw a man in camouflage fall from one of the city’s bridges, the incident commander, Battalion Chief Brian McDermott, told The Record.
According to the report, the man was swept downstream, where he ended up in a parking lot blocked off by a fence topped with razor wire. Fortunately, Rescue Captain Scott Parkin and his crew had identified this area as a potential trouble spot, and they had created a hole in the fence, allowing firefighters to access the area where the victim ended up.
Various attempts were made to reach the victim until firefighters finally managed to float a rescue boat to him.
Read the entire account HERE.
