Originally Posted by
bendtheski
I was working Clear Creek Dispatch Thursday. P/A contacted us by radio, and we got people rolling. I won't go into very much detail, but these calls always leave an impression, and tax my tiny brain for months while I try to process what went wrong/how this could have been avoided? I did the same after Sheep Creek, although I wasn't on console that day.
Some good insights being posted here. I can only say that P/A were for the most part self-sufficient in recovering the victim and getting him out to medics. It's a weird feeling, getting these calls. Although I've pretty much sworn of BC in recent years, I'm at least a little bit familiar with BC travel/safety. Time seems to slow way down from the time the call comes in until a responder makes contact and we start to get a clearer picture of the situation and potential outcome. I sit, I hope, I even pray. I imagine the terror the victim might have experienced as they're caught and carried, maybe praying themselves for it to just stop. Maybe they've got an air pocket, maybe they're still viable. Maybe that's just projection.
I saw the coroner page a few hours after my shift ended, and knew the outcome then, although I had already heard from several on scene that prospects weren't great. I read the fb post from one of the guests, the post by P/A, read all the comments there and here. Not my place to question decisions, just to try and facilitate the best possible outcome once we've gotten involved, but the impacts as some others have mentioned can be far reaching. It's times like these I'm thankful that the greatest risk in my occupation is paper cuts and losing it with difficult callers/responders.
Condolences to all.