“This video is a demonstration of the ice and cold water rescue training our Firefighters receive. The situation would have played out the same had the water been frozen. We tether a member, send them out to secure the patient, who will be placed on a stokes basket and removed up the ladder. This can happen any time so we need to be prepared,” says FDNY Captain Arthur Fitzpatrick, Water Rescue Unit, who along with Ladder Company 18 conducted a drill at the South Street Seaport simulating a perso

New York City’s elite Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) New York Task Force-1 members are assisting with the rescue of stranded civilians who have become trapped due to rising, rapidly flowing flood waters from Hurricane Matthew. Each member has received 50 hours of extensive swiftwater rescue training, as highlighted in the video seen here. All members who participate in swiftwater rescues are certified to both operational and technical levels, in addition to being certified Rescue Boat Opera

Yesterday, FDNY Dispatchers, Firefighters, EMS and our NYPD partners worked quickly to rescue five children who became lost in a Staten Island sewer system. | New York City Fire Department (FDNY)

At 3:05 pm today, Engine 246, Ladder 161, and Ladder 169 responded to Emmons Avenue at 23rd Street for a report of two people in the water in Sheepshead Bay. They were clinging to a dinghy that was sinking. L-161 and L-169 both deployed rescue swimmers, Firefighters Dan Palmieri and Matt Paz, who swam to the two victims in the water. Using a surfboard, they were pulled to shore. A third person who had jumped into the water to help the other two, was rescued by Marine 9 with the help of NYPD. All