Columbia Fire Department rescues child from underground confined space, November 13

On Thursday, Nov. 13, at 5:08 p.m., Columbia Fire Department (CFD) units were dispatched to a unique search-and-rescue in the area of West Broadway and East Parkway Drive.

CFD units arrived within four minutes to reports of a 12-year-old child who had gained access to a nearby underground stormwater runoff system. Recognizing the danger, the initial incident command team upgraded the response to add CFD's Special Operations Teams, bringing specialized technical rescue and hazardous materials equipment and personnel while attempting to locate the child, who was believed to be underground and trapped in an unknown area.

Firefighters conducted grid searches above and below ground, working with the Columbia Police Department and others to attempt to locate the child. Incident commanders called in City of Columbia Utilities stormwater crews to assist with mapping the stormwater piping, utilizing their technical expertise with the underground infrastructure primarily used to carry stormwater.

When crews accessed the maps, they found some areas they were unable to access on the initial search. Personnel from Utilities were able to get CFD crews access to these areas where the child was located in a stormwater pipe around 8:15 p.m. Working together, personnel from Utilities and CFD placed a remote-controlled camera into the stormwater pipe to evaluate the conditions and exact location for access to the child.

Personnel from CFD and Utilities attached a rope to the remote-controlled camera in order to deliver the rope to the child inside the pipe. The child was able to grab the rope and was pulled to safety using the rope in a haul system by the CFD crews around 9:40 p.m. The child was treated by paramedics and transported by University of Missouri Health Care EMS to a local hospital.

"Our Special Operations teams train for the worst environments we face in this profession-confined spaces, swift water, high-angle work and, in this case, an underground stormwater system with dropping temperatures and almost no visibility," Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said. "What they did was a reminder of the quiet, technical competence they carry into every incident. They worked shoulder-to-shoulder with our City Utilities team, CPD and EMS partners, pushing into a system that's not built for human entry, knowing the risks and doing it anyway because a child needed them. Their discipline, teamwork and willingness to put themselves between danger and the people we serve speaks to the profound level of service the Columbia Fire Department strives to provide every day, and I could not be more proud."

The Columbia Fire Department had 16 trucks with 26 personnel on scene. The CFD tour commander coordinated the recall of off-duty personnel and maintained the emergency system to guarantee there were no reductions in service during this event.

Again, CFD would like to thank our partner agencies: the Columbia Police Department, City of Columbia Utilities, and MU Health Care Emergency Services for their assistance on this incident.

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To serve the public equitably through democratic, transparent and efficient government.