Crime & Safety

Photos: County Fire Crew Helps Rescue Trapped Spelunker

Montgomery County Fire Rescue assisted Washington County Fire Rescue in rescuing a man trapped in a cave in near Clear Spring, Md.

Technical rescue specialists from Montgomery County Fire & Rescue helped emergency responders from Washington and Frederick counties free a trapped spelunker from a cave near Clear Spring, Md.

At around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Montgomery County Fire Rescue was contacted by the Maryland Emergency Management Agency to rescue a trapped spelunker at Schtrumph's Cave, know for its “cork screws” and its long, narrow passages.

Montgomery County officials said the victim got trapped about 250 feet from the entrance point. The man reportedly slid down an area in the cave, causing his legs to become wedged inside some rocks, The Herald-Mail reported.

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Rescuers decided they had to enter the cave in order to free him, according to Montgomery County Fire & Rescue’s blog.

Personnel from Washington County Fire Rescue had established communications with the victim and provided the his three companions with rescue tools, two-way communications equipment, and atmospheric monitoring equipment with which they used to chip away at the rock structures entrapping him, according to the blog.

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Two rescuers from Montgomery County met the victim about 100 feet below the entrance. After assessing the spelunker’s medical condition, the rescuers created an improvised harness to pull him out of the cave, the blog states.

The victim was freed from the cave at around 10:15 p.m. and was transported to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment, county fire officials said.


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