VAN BUREN COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Piney Volunteer Fire Department successfully rescued two people trapped in Fall Creek Falls State Park just two days ago, despite difficult terrain, high temperatures and limited volunteer availability.
“You just don’t realize how the heat and humidity can affect you, especially when you go to the base of Fall Creek Falls. That trail is about four-tenths of a mile long and climbs 300 feet, which is pretty strenuous,” said Tiwanna Bricker with the Piney Volunteer Fire Department.
On Sunday, June 23, the Piney Volunteer Fire Department was notified that a hiker was injured at the base of Cane Creek Falls in the Cable Trail area.
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According to the Piney Fire Facebook page, state park rangers found the hiker in the water at the base of the falls with a hip injury.
Bricker was in the church at the time and immediately went to help.
“I don’t know if they understand how much dedication it takes for an ordinary member to just drop everything in their work (And) family life…the whole thing of taking care of someone else’s emergencies,” Bricker said. “I had water in the cooler from a birthday party the night before that was all gone taking care of people.”
With the help of several other agencies, the crew worked for four hours to move the injured hiker. Bricker said that while they do this type of rescue eight to 10 times a year, a 50-person operation like Sunday’s is rare.
“This call was especially difficult because of the size of the patient. He was over 300 pounds. That required more labor, rope work, more people to carry. And then there was the heat … so our people were getting exhausted and dehydrated from trying to get him out,” Bricker said.
It took rescuers about four hours to free the injured hiker. Rescuers had to take frequent breaks and prioritize hydration to complete the rescue.
“There’s no easy way to do it. There’s no easy way to get around it. There are no roads to that area,” Bricker said.
The Dunlap Fire Department, Pikeville Fire Department, Doyle Volunteer Fire Department, White County Office of Emergency Management, Sparta Rescue Squad, Bledsoe County Rescue Squad, Bledsoe County Rescue Squad, White County Rescue Squad, Sequatchie County Rescue Squad and the Mt. Crest Volunteer Fire Department all assisted in the hours-long rescue operation.
Crews conduct second rescue in a week at Fall Creek Falls
Bricker said many of these teams had trained together to address these types of problems.
“We’ve worked on building a close relationship and learning how to work together on rope training. And that’s been great to have them and then we’ve all worked together and trained scenarios,” she said.
The following Tuesday, the Piney Fire Department was called to the park again after a man fell off a trail near the pool.
Bricker said that despite the pressures put on her and the rest of the team, she considers it an honor to serve her community.
“There are days when you’re like, ‘Okay, I’m done. I’m just going to quit. And then you get up the next morning and you just keep going… we just have a great love for our local fire department, our local people and so we just keep working to get better and take care of them and that extends to the citizens that visit the terrain park in our area,” Bricker said.
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As temperatures continue to rise, Bricker urges people to stay safe on the trail and reminds visitors that it is illegal to jump from any of the ledges into the plunge pool.
But if someone is in danger or injured, she is ready to help.
