From the FDNY Facebook page:
“We got a call for kids in a manhole. The water level was low, so they were able to go right in. They got lost in this sewer system. The dispatchers were able to get critical information from the children about where they had entered. We found their belongings at the entrance and this is where Rescue 5 began their search. A member from Rescue 5 made entry on a rope with meters and a breathing apparatus. It was a tight space. The member had to crouch down and then crawl. We had other companies start to open up manholes on Clove Road. Squad 1, Squad 8, Rescue 5, Ladder 77 and Ladder 79 all made entry into the sewer system at various points. A member from Ladder 79 opened a manhole and found four of the children. Another child was further down the line with an injured leg. We had a Firefighter go down into the manhole and assist all the children out. The children traveled about a quarter mile before we found them. This was truly a team effort between our Dispatchers, Firefighters our EMS personnel and the NYPD,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Joe Harris, recounting the scene from the rescue of five children who became lost in a Staten Island sewer.
Fire Alarm Dispatcher Moises Arias said, “I received the initial phone call; a child stated that he was stuck in a sewer on Staten Island. He was trying to give me a location but wasn’t quite sure of where he was. At that time my co-worker Dispatcher Marlind Haxhialiu, who is familiar with the area, was able to describe landmarks to them in order to pinpoint where the children entered the sewer system. We told them to start shouting for help. I kept trying to reassure them and keep them calm.”
“When I spoke to the kids, they were very frantic. I was asking them questions that would narrow down a specific location where they had entered the sewer system, based on my knowledge of that area. I was able to determine where they had entered. I relayed this information to the incoming Chief and the first due units. Those units were able to locate the children’s belongings at the entrance to the sewer. I’m glad everyone was able to work together to rescue these five children,” said Fire Alarm Dispatcher Marlind Haxhialiu.
