Firefighters speak out following dramatic hot air balloon rescue
Two firefighters are speaking out after they helped rescue two people who were trapped in a hot air balloon more than 900 feet in the air.
Lt. Stephen Winchell and firefighter Cliff Patrick, both of Longview Fire Department in Texas, called the Feb. 28 incident the “Super Bowl” of rope rescues.
“Everyone showed up and everyone brought their A-game to it. And the training paid off,” Patrick told ABC News. “It was a very rewarding experience to be able to be a part of that.”
Winchell and Patrick said it took more than an hour for rescue crews to climb a cellphone tower and rescue the passengers of a hot air balloon, which had crashed into the tower.
“This basket is tenuously hanging on the tower by a thread,” Patrick recalled.
Winchell added that the crew had to take weather conditions into account.
“There was 10 to 20 mile an hour of steady wind up there, gusts of up to 24,” Winchell said.
Winchell said he didn’t hesitate to put his training into action.
“I grabbed a little bit of gear. Got the basics of the plan and started climbing because we knew we had a long ways to go,” Winchell said.
After Winchell and the rescue crew reached the passengers, he said one was standing in the balloon basket while another was sitting.
“We secured the basket to the tower with ropes but they physically had to climb out of that basket at over 900 feet in the air,” said Winchell.
Drone footage captured the heart-pounding rescue on camera.
In a Facebook post, the Upshur County Constable’s Office praised the actions of the firefighters and said the passengers and their families are “beyond grateful” for their lifesaving efforts.
“The professionalism, courage, and precision demonstrated by the Longview Fire Department was nothing short of extraordinary,” Constable Tim Barnett said in part. “They prepared for a moment like this — and when the call came, they executed flawlessly. Tonight, there are families who are beyond grateful, and I share that gratitude.”
