ROGERS, Ark. (KFSM) — What started as an evening walk around the lake turned dangerous quickly after two adults and a baby fell more than 30 feet down an embankment in Rogers.
While Lake Atalanta is a popular scenic spot, the natural hills and steep drops can prove to be extremely dangerous and the Rogers Fire Department was there yesterday helping one family who found themselves in a scary situation.
"We know the terrain and topography associated with lake Atalanta, what makes it beautiful is what makes it dangerous and so it’s important that people pay attention to that sort of thing," said Rogers Fire Chief Tom Jenkins.
Around 8 p.m. Wednesday (July 31) a mother, her baby and a friend were walking around Lake Atalanta when in an instant the stroller carrying the baby got away from the pair and went tumbling more than 30 feet down an embankment.
The mother and friend raced after the child and came to a stop on a tree, the mother broke her ankle on the way down.
Once at the bottom of the steep edge, Rogers Fire Department got the call that the trio needed help.
"Packaged her into a basket and ended up using the ropes and a mechanical advantage to go ahead and retrieve the patient and bring her and the child and the other bystander back up over the embankment," said Technical Rescue Team Captain Josh Chapman.
The Rogers Fire Technical Rescue Team scaled-down the edge, brought the friend up in a harness and the mother in a basket, but the baby, although unharmed, needed extra attention.
"They don’t make harnesses for small children, they are not supposed to go rock climbing, so what we ended up doing is taking and securing her pretty well to one of our rescuers," Chapman said.
Rogers Fire says they are thankful to have the proper equipment and training to get the job done.
"You’ll notice it’s a backpack, so we can put it on and hike in with it because just like yesterday a lot of these people are on trails so we have to take the equipment that we may or may not need and hike it all in with us," Chapman said.
The friend and the baby came away with no serious injuries, and the mother suffered a broken ankle. Rogers Fire says it's a good day when everyone steps away okay from a potentially deadly situation.
"All in all it was a win because nobody had any permanent injuries you know everyone is going to walk away from it in the end and be okay," Chapman said.
The Technical Team practices frequently to remain ready if and when someone might need help. Jenkins says the rescue took about an hour from the time the units arrive to when the victims were brought to safety.