On Tuesday, August 15, 2006 at 1:53 PM, eleven Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, three LAFD Rescue Ambulances, two LAFD Helicopters, one LAFD Swift Water Rescue Team, two LAFD Dive Teams, one LAFD Rehab Unit, one LAFD Hazardous Materials Squad, one EMS Battalion Captain, one Battalion Chief Officer Command Team, one Division Chief Officer Command Team and Los Angeles Police Department resources, including the LAPD Underwater Dive Unit, under the Unified Command of Los Angeles Police and Fire Department Command Officers, responded to a Water Rescue and Recovery Effort near 1555 North San Fernando Road in the Los Angeles community of Glassell Park.

According to witnesses, a group of young teens had been playing immediately adjacent to the Los Angeles River, when one youth, reportedly in an attempt to retrieve a fishing pole, fell into the slow moving and murky water of the urban flood control channel, instantly slipping beneath the surface.

The remaining children, who were reportedly his siblings, flagged down a passing Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crew who in turn summoned rescuers via the utility's communications center.

A seasonally appropriate still water rescue response brought highly trained ground-based and airborne LAFD crews immediately to the scene, as they were subsequently joined by LAFD dive teams ferried by Fire Department helicopter to the locale.

In a well-rehearsed and seamless fashion, Firefighters were soon joined by and working alongside Los Angeles Police Officers, including one of twelve LAPD Underwater Dive Unit members dispatched to the scene.

Working strategically and in close coordination with LAFD Helicopters and Water Rescue trained Firefighters along the shore, the underwater rescue and recovery effort continued unabated in zero-visibility conditions for more than two hours, as the joint Police and Fire Department Dive Team meticulously searched the location in a grid-like fashion.

At 4:01 PM, divers located the submerged and lifeless body of the boy a short distance downstream from where he was last seen. Beyond the help of medicine, Firefighter/Divers declared him deceased at the scene.

As multiple media helicopters circled overhead and camera crews closely surrounded the recovery site, dive team members went to great lengths to respect and protect the boy's dignity, shrouding him underwater and laboriously bringing his remains to a shoreside canopy shelter.

The many emergency responders who entered or who were exposed to the brackish water, including the dive team, were systematically rinsed at the scene by LAFD Hazardous Materials experts well-versed in such procedures.

There were no responder injuries reported.

Firefighters were not able to ascertain the boy's swimming skills or whether he sustained a specific injury or entanglement in the fall. Los Angeles Police Officers handled notification of next of kin, while offering compassionate support to the child witnesses and extended family of the victim.

A positive identification of the decedent, as well as the precise cause, time and manner of his death will be determined by Coroner's officials.

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Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

Tags: LA, Los Angeles, LAFD, Los Angeles Fire Department