What started as a typical Saturday at a Raleigh Fire Station quickly moved to a high-wire rescue of an injured hiker on the side of Grandfather Mountain.
Raleigh Fire Captain Daniel Richardson and Senior Firefighter Jason Ceisner got the call and were quickly on a N.C. Highway Patrol helicopter headed for Grandfather Mountain. They’re both members of the NC Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (NCHART).
“We train monthly at sites across the state,” says Richardson. “This felt like another training day with a real-world patient. The coordination, the communication, and the cooperation between all involved was just seamless.”
A 21-year old hiker had fallen about 50 feet. It was up to Richardson and Ceisner to rescue him.
The pair was lowered from the chopper onto the mountainside. Both rescuers admit there is always a bit of an adrenaline rush in a rescue operation like this, but Richardson adds “The basis of our training scenarios creates a rock solid foundation to fall back on. The adrenaline really just causes you to triple and quadruple check your work.”
Ceisner is grateful that he and team were able to get to the young man and bring him off the mountain.
“It’s a great feeling to know I was part of the rescue, and just part of NCHART for that matter,” Ceisner shared. “There are so many players when it comes to successfully completing this kind of rescue and I’m just glad to be a small part of it.”