Vehicle Accident and Cliff Rescue

On January 11, 2017 at 9:50 a.m. 4 Fire Companies, 1 Technical Rescue Unit and 2 Chief Officers responded to a vehicle accident and cliff rescue in the area of 500 Manor Drive, within the City of Pacifica.

Upon arrival, fire companies located a vehicle and elderly adult male that had driven off the road and down the side of a cliff and due to the location it required firefighters to repel approximately 300 feet to perform the rescue.

Utilizing a rope rescue system, along with rescue basket firefighter/paramedics went over the edge repelling down the side of the cliff in order to reach the victim.  With the steep condition and need to extricate the patient from the damaged vehicle it was a difficult and time consuming operation. After reaching and making contact with the patient, firefighter/paramedics made an assessment for injuries and treated the medical conditions found.  Once the patient was extricated from the vehicle and medically stabilized, firefighters placed the patient into the rescue basket and utilized a CHP helicopter for pick up.

The patient had serious injuries and was transported by helicopter to a trauma center. The incident was mitigated in approximately two and a half hours and is under investigation by law enforcement.