BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Some of the city’s most
skilled first responders
teamed up on Sunday, Sept. 5,
to make a smooth, yet complex
rescue of a man who fell down
a Queens storm drain.
It’s still not clear how the
47-year-old man wound up
tumbling 30 feet down the
drain near the Cross Island
Parkway and Whitestone
Expressway in Whitestone
at about 8:03 a.m. on Sept. 5.
He survived the plunge, but
wound up with a leg injury
upon landing. He couldn’t
make it out on his own.
The victim had been stuck
there for many long moments
by the time the NYPD Emergency
Services Unit and
FDNY Squad Company 61 arrived
on the scene. Though the
rival between the Bravest and
Finest is well-known throughout
New York City, they put it
aside when it comes to saving
someone in need.
“We work very very well
together, the NYPD and
FDNY,” said FDNY Assistant
Chief Michael Gala during a
press conference about the
rescue on Sunday afternoon
in Flushing. “We train together
constantly on a lot of
different topics and scenarios.
This was very successful.”
Over the next 20 minutes,
according to some of the first
responders who participated
in the operation, the NYPD
and FDNY worked to get the
injured man out of the storm
drain.
Three first responders
played key roles in the rescue:
Firefighter Kris Kabashi of
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.4 COM | SEPT. 10 - SEPT. 16, 2021
Squad 61, along with Detectives
Steven Orlando and Kenneth
Lagallo. Kabashi made
direct contact with the victim
by going down into the hole to
tend to his injuries and prepare
him for the lift out.
“We basically told him that
it was going to be okay,” Kabashi
said. “I think as soon as
he saw us come down, he felt
better.”
After Kabashi fitted the
victim’s leg with a temporary
brace, they began the process
of getting him out of the hole.
Using a basket hooked on a
line attached to a tower ladder,
first responders gradually
brought the victim up out of
the hole to safety.
EMS units rushed the man
to NewYork-Presbyterian
Queens hospital in Flushing,
where he’s in stable condition
First responders speak about a daring rescue of a 47-year-old man
trapped in a storm drain in Queens on Sept. 5, 2021.
and expected to make a
recovery.
While praising the work of
the FDNY and NYPD officers
involved in the rescue, Chief
Gala stressed the importance
of New Yorkers using the 911
hotline whenever a life-threatening
emergency strikes.
“If you are in trouble, if a
family member is in trouble,
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
before you attempt any kind
of rescue, call 911,” Gala said.
“Our response time is usually
3-4 minutes. As a team, there’s
nothing we can’t accomplish.”
Reach reporter Robert
Pozarycki by e-mail at
rpozarycki@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260-
4549.
FDNY & NYPD partner
to pull fallen man from
Queens storm drain
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