First Responders Rappel 30 Feet To Hiker In Long Valley Park

LONG VALLEY, NJ - It was a quarter-mile trek on Schooley’s Mountain County Park’s blue trail on Saturday, then another 30-foot descent to rappel down a steep and slippery rock face to assist an injured hiker.

Long Valley’s First Aid Squad, however, successfully achieved this complicated and dangerous feat, pulling out and transporting the unidentified hiker to safety within a half-hour after reaching them.

Dispatchers from the Morris County Communications Center were able to get a precise GPS location from the hiker's 911 call, which helped first responders in their rescue.

Long Valley First Aid Squad reported one of their EMT’s, also a Rope Technician, rappelled to the victim, deeming them on their initial assessment “stable but non-ambulatory."

After arriving to the hiker, the team used a low-angle haul system from Cascade Rescue Company to hoist them from the site, invaluable equipment the First Aid Squad said it only acquired on Friday.

Long Valley Fire Company No. 1 and the Morris County Park Police assisted the First Aid Squad with transporting the victim to safety on elevations of approximately 100-feet and more than a quarter-mile distance back to the squad’s Rescue-3 ATV. The hiker was whisked on the ATV to another staging area for more care.

“Excellent work by all involved,” Long Valley First Aid Squad wrote on its Facebook Page in its post on Sunday. “Training pays off.”

Questions or comments about this story? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.