Friday 25th June

04:55 – Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service, were called to a report of 2 people in the River Forth at Stirling near to the Old Stirling Bridge.

05:10 – IRC received a call from Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service requesting attendance.

05:14 – Members mobilised to uplift the boat.

05:18 – Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service informed team were mobile.

1 member was deployed to the incident command point at Stirling Brig off Cornton Road as liaison officer and 3 members deployed to the launch site at Stirling Boat Club on Dean Crescent as boat and shore crew.

Further information gleaned after arrival on site, was that 2 males had entered the River Forth and swam/waded out where they each climbed on to separate bridge parapets. By the time IRC had arrived, they had both donned PFDs lowered down to them by Fire Service personnel. The first male said he was ready to come off but wouldn’t do so until the other one agreed with it. The second dominant male was fairly aggressive and non compliant.

2 fire appliances and a boat crew from Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service arrived, and were directed to liaise with the IRC boat team at Stirling Boat Club. The IRC launched the Zegul at the boat club and were requested to stand by at this location out of sight of the 2 casualties. Another group went to recce possible launch sites for the larger boats.

By this time, police negotiators had arrived on scene. After some discussions, the first man agreed to be taken off the parapet. The boat crew made their way up river, and assisted him into the boat. He was taken to the bank where the fire crew from Alloa had set up an inflatable walkway and ladder to enable him to climb out of the boat and up the bank. The boat crew then stood by at the bank waiting for further instructions from the Police.

The second man, had earlier become quite agitated and taken off his shoes, trousers and PFD and thrown them into the water. When he saw the Fire Service personnel setting up the walkways near the bank, he threatened to jump in if they came any nearer, forcing their withdrawal.

After further negotiations, he agreed to be taken off. He donned another PFD which was lowered down to him and willingly entered the IRC’s Zegul boat when it returned. He was likewise taken to the bank and assisted off by Fire Service and IRC personnel.

The incident was closed at 07:37hrs.

 

Notes –
All times are approximate as those recording them were also involved in dealing with the incident.
PFD – Personal Flotation Device

Media Requests

To feature any part of our stories in your own publications, please contact admin@intrescue.org or call +44 (0) 1324 665 011