{"id":566822,"date":"2026-03-28T15:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T15:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/566822\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T15:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T15:37:12","slug":"a-look-at-firefighter-and-aquatic-rescue-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/566822\/","title":{"rendered":"A look at firefighter and aquatic rescue operations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Very cold water came up to Garrett Scully\u2019s knees, and he could feel the debris beating against his legs.<\/p>\n

A ways ahead yet was the first of multiple vehicles with people atop, waiting on help.<\/p>\n

Scully could see the water there was vehicle-window deep.<\/p>\n

The acting lieutenant and aquatic specialist with Calgary Fire turned to his fellow rescuer, and they shared a silent beat before he said, \u201cLet\u2019s not do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d have to find another way.<\/p>\n

Not long prior, on the evening of Dec. 30, 2025, the aged, ailing Bearspaw feeder main ruptured a second time.<\/p>\n

At the start, a vehicle was made briefly airborne by the force of it.<\/p>\n

Now, city water continued its steady, heavy bleed from under the northwest Calgary road.<\/p>\n

People previously driving somewhere, now going nowhere, scrambled atop dead rides as the water rose.<\/p>\n

Brent Falhman, district chief with Calgary Fire, said the task was clear, but \u201cyou have to think about the right way to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And \u201cyou have to decide how much you\u2019re going to risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou risk a lot to gain a lot,\u201d he said, \u201cand you risk a little to gain a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(Courtesy Janice Rendflesh) \u2018Hard to figure out what\u2019s happening\u2019<\/p>\n

The main break occurred near the Sarcee Trail\/16 Avenue N.W. interchange, a few blocks from the last one in summer 2024.<\/p>\n

Seemingly endless water flowed off the road, taking over pathways and continuing into the park.<\/p>\n

The 911 calls followed quickly and in quantity, but it wasn\u2019t known yet what the situation was.<\/p>\n

Scully said in the moment, \u201cThere are so many people calling dispatch, it\u2019s hard to figure out what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

What he saw when he arrived \u201cdidn\u2019t make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see it, and it\u2019s just like, \u2018There\u2019s an artificial river going down the road right now,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Scully said Calgary Fire\u2019s aquatic team trains \u201call the time\u201d and that it\u2019s \u201call very hands-on.\u201d<\/p>\n

But this, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s in a road\u2014we don\u2019t train for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(Courtesy Brandon de Carlo) <\/p>\n

Out in the wet, up to his knees, debris beating against his legs, he was at risk of losing his footing a couple of times.<\/p>\n

Fahlman said that was too much risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe water\u2019s moving so fast, it could carry you,\u201d he said, \u201cand if you get swept \u2018downstream,\u2019 eventually it was dumping by that bridge over the river.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the road underneath is getting chewed up pretty good,\u201d he said, \u201cand if you try to walk across, you could get trapped in that asphalt peeling up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018You adapt to the situation\u2019<\/p>\n

When it becomes clear \u201cplan A\u201d isn\u2019t going to work, Scully said you go to \u201cplan B,\u201d then \u201cplan C,\u201d and on and on if need be.<\/p>\n

He said you run through as many options as you have to.<\/p>\n

He said you do the job.<\/p>\n

Falhman said, \u201cYou adapt to the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve never done this on 16th Avenue,\u201d he said, \u201cbut you\u2019ve done it on the river.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"(Damien Wood \/ CTV News Calgary) <\/p>\n

Firefighters went back in the water with a kind of inflatable raft that can be fast-filled with the same canisters they use to breathe when battling blazes.<\/p>\n

The night\u2019s calls, which police looked over recently with CTV News, show one vehicle was floating down the road.<\/p>\n

A family with special-needs children was trapped inside another.<\/p>\n

Someone was navigating the crisis on a broken leg.<\/p>\n

All told, more than a dozen people were in need of rescuing.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine you\u2019re sitting on top of your car,\u201d Fahlman said, \u201cand you\u2019re like, \u2018What do I do now?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re helpless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scully said, \u201cSeeing those people\u2019s relief, when they saw us there, was huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(Damien Wood \/ CTV News Calgary) \u2018It\u2019s a lot\u2019<\/p>\n

Police shuttered many a road over an area of size and put a helicopter overhead to light up the secured perimeter.<\/p>\n

Somewhere, city crews getting better-versed in water woe began work to turn off the tap.<\/p>\n

Firefighters, meantime, paddled from \u201cshore\u201d to vehicle and back again, over and over, to save the stranded.<\/p>\n

Scully said you make \u201chundreds of decisions\u201d along the way in a rescue.<\/p>\n

Some are little.<\/p>\n

Others are anything but.<\/p>\n

Each takes time, saves time, adds a complication or takes one away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot,\u201d he said, \u201cand it\u2019s stressful.<\/p>\n

\u201c(But) it all worked so well for such a different call.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(CTV News Calgary) <\/p>\n

At a pace of about two to three minutes a person, everyone was brought safely back.<\/p>\n

No fatalities; no one injured.<\/p>\n

As his raft got back aground, ferrying the last person who needed ferrying, Scully said he finally felt some relief of his own.<\/p>\n

\u2018A swift-water rescue on the No. 1 highway\u2019<\/p>\n

After the first main break, a local state of emergency was declared.<\/p>\n

Water use restrictions were put in place.<\/p>\n

The city carried out 29 repairs along the Bearspaw line, with the work completed by November 2024.<\/p>\n

A little more than a year later, after the second break, the emergency operations centre doors opened again.<\/p>\n

And water use restrictions were put in place again.<\/p>\n

This time, repairs took weeks, not months, though additional work to maintain and ultimately replace the line is ongoing.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"(CTV News Calgary) <\/p>\n

Immediately after the second break, somewhere, firefighters gathered around a table.<\/p>\n

The second break didn\u2019t unfold like the first.<\/p>\n

If there were ever a third, it would very likely be different, also.<\/p>\n

Fahlman said they discussed it anyway\u2014as they would any event.<\/p>\n

He said it\u2019s called an \u201cafter-action review,\u201d where they discuss an event \u201cwhile it\u2019s fresh in our minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of the conversation this time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Did you ever think we would do a swift-water rescue on the No. 1 highway through Calgary?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018No, not a chance.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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