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Man freed after half-day entrapment in rockslide 

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A man who became pinned under rocks Sunday on a craggy hill near downtown could not have been happier to see the headlamps of firefighters coming his way after darkness fell.

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“He was trapped there 12 hours or more,” said platoon chief Andre Groulx. “I assume someone heard him calling for help.”

Groulx said the fire department was called at 8:37 p.m. regarding the stranded individual, who was injured and wedged among boulders on the cliff behind the Cherry Gardens apartment building on Brady Street.

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“He went down the hill and caused a little landslide, and got trapped under some loose rock,” said Groulx. “He had a fracture in his arm.”

Eight firefighters from two stations — Long Lake and downtown — responded to the scene, along with a platoon chief and acting deputy chief Brian Morrison.

A firefighter sets out cones on Van Horne Street on Sunday night as crews responded to a person stuck on a cliff behind Cherry Gardens Apartments.
A firefighter sets out cones on Van Horne Street on Sunday night as crews responded to a person stuck on a cliff behind Cherry Gardens Apartments. Photo by Jim Moodie/Sudbury Star

Fire trucks were parked alongside Van Horne Street and on Wood Street, which runs steeply uphill to a communication tower, while the crewmembers geared up with helmets, ropes and carabiners to perform the rescue.

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“It took us about an hour because we had to do the proper rigging,” said Groulx. “We wanted to make sure we didn’t cause another landslide going down to get him.”

The platoon chief said members of the downtown station are dedicated to high-angle and low-angle rescues, and have recently received extra training in this type of response “so it was a good chance to practise our skills.”

He said the rescuers were all tethered together by lines and descended carefully to ensure safety for both themselves and the person in distress.

A firefighter ascends a rock face behind Brady Square on Sunday night.
A firefighter ascends a rock face behind Brady Square on Sunday night. Photo by Supplied

The man, in his 30s, was freed from the boulders and hauled back up the rock face in a rescue basket, said the platoon chief.

“He wasn’t a hiker but I guess he had been walking in the bush back there when he slipped and caused the rocks to come down on him,” said Groulx.

jmoodie@postmedia.com

Fire vehicles could be seen at the top of Wood Street, which dead-ends at a communication tower between Van Horne and St. Raphael Streets.
Fire vehicles could be seen at the top of Wood Street, which dead-ends at a communication tower between Van Horne and St. Raphael Streets. Photo by Jim Moodie/Sudbury Star
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