NEED TO KNOW
\nA 15-year-old boy was sledding with a friend at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kan. on Jan. 24During the excursion, he\u00a0fell feet-first from his sled and into a small drainage pipe, causing him to be trapped with only his fingers visible above groundThe boy was safely rescued by two Newton Fire\/EMS Division firefighters, and transported to a local hospital<\/p>\n
A 15-year-old boy found himself stuck inside an 11 in. drainage pipe while sledding in Newton, Kan. on Jan. 24.\n<\/p>\n
The teen, whose identity has not been publicly released, was sledding with his friend on a golf course at Sand Creek Station, the Newton Fire\/EMS Division announced in a Jan. 24\u00a0Facebook post.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n He then fell feet-first from his sled and\u00a0into the small drainage pipe, making him trapped,\u00a0his family said, according to Newton Fire\/EMS Division<\/a>. His friend notified a neighbor to call 911. Once the Newton Fire\/EMS Division responded to the scene, they found the boy stuck inside, with only his fingertips “visible at ground level.”\n<\/p>\n “Two firefighters were able to grab his hands and pull him out by hand,” Newton Fire\/EMS Division reported. The boy was safely removed from the hole and taken to the local hospital. He was in stable condition and later returned home.<\/p>\n Drain Pipe in Newton, Kan. golf course.<\/p>\n Newton Fire\/EMS Department\u00a0<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Jan. 27, the Newton Fire\/EMS Division posted on Facebook<\/a>, answering questions about the incident and providing a photo of the hole with a measuring tape. The agency confirmed that a metal grate was supposed to cover the hole, and that “the grate was found next to the hole and replaced after the rescue.”\n<\/p>\n Skeptics didn’t believe the agency, leading the post to read: “We posted the story to emphasize the importance of the good ol\u2019 buddy system. This story could have had a tragic ending if this young man hadn\u2019t had a friend with him to call for help. Especially in extreme cold conditions, it\u2019s so important to have someone with you in case of an emergency.”\n<\/p>\n The post confirmed responders returned to the site to measure the hole’s interior diameter. The post added, “Our priority was getting him out, not how he managed to get in.”\n<\/p>\n The post also said there were not photos from the incident initially because the “firefighters do not wear body cameras, and our priority was the safety of the person, not stopping to take pictures.”\n<\/p>\n “We do not take photos of a scene until after life and safety have been secured. And even then, we only take photos when a patient\u2019s privacy can be protected,” the post read.\n<\/p>\n Drain Pipe in Newton, Kan. golf course.<\/p>\n Newton Fire\/EMS Department\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI firmly believe that that individual is only alive because someone called for help,\u201d Andy Harder, Newton Fire\/EMS Division Chief of Community Risk Reduction, told KWCH<\/a>. \u201cIf we would have been looking for him without knowing where he was at it would have been like looking for a needle in a hay stack.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cWith the snow covering the ground you definitely have to be aware of your surroundings because you can\u2019t see what might be underneath the snow,\u201d Harder said. \u201cIs it a frozen lake or is it an open drainage hole?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cMy reaction initially was there\u2019s just no way a person could fit in it,\u201d Sand Creek Station General Manager Dustin Housh told KWCH. \u201cI didn\u2019t think it was possible so it seems to be kind of an incredible feat and I\u2019m curious to how that happened.\u201d\n<\/p>\n