Laguna Firefighters Rescue Woman At Thousand Steps Beach

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Firefighters trained with local personnel and first responders, knowing they will put their skills to the test. Knowledge from a training exercise at the top of the World, which focused on patient care and evacuation, was used when a call came in hours later from Thousand Steps Beach.

An unnamed beachgoer was "on her back at the stair's base," of the small beach. She was unable to climb back up the steep and slippery staircase, a Laguna Beach Fire Department spokesperson told the Orange County Register.

The 32-year-old woman's back was injured, and she was in pain, they said. Emergency responders determined that a helicopter ambulance would be the best choice in her rescue.

Firefighters, working with lifeguards and police, cleared a space for the helicopter and began the evacuation.

She was up and on her way to Mission Valley Hospital within 10 minutes.
"We had just talked about it and rehearsed it," spokesperson Pat Cary, firefighter and paramedic told the Register. "When we have these calls, the training allows us to all be on the same page."

For the third time in July, a helicopter was needed to evacuate a beachgoer from Laguna's beaches, the Register reported. Incidents included people trapped on rocks, to a Huntington Beach man who drowned trying to help a friend.

According to Cary, "most calls at Thousand Steps Beach will end in a helicopter rescue."