Niagara Falls Fun - Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls Canada

As reported in the Review

MAN SURVIVES PLUNGE OVER FALLS: CLICK TO SEE VIDEO
Firefighters and helicopter pilot bring man to shore
Posted By Corey Larocque

After surviving the 188-foot plunge over the Horseshoe Falls, an unidentified man swam in the icy water of the Niagara River for about 30 minutes while rescuers raced against the clock to get him out.

“If it had gone on a couple minutes more, he would have sunk beneath the water,” said Niagara Parks Police Sgt. Chris Gallagher.

It’s believed to be the third time a person has survived going over the falls without some kind of protection, like a barrel.

Police, firefighters, paramedics and a private helicopter pilot worked for about 45 minutes to save the man who went into the water above the falls but stayed afloat in the lower river. He clung to a log at times, and was swimming in the near-freezing water while rescuers prepared on shore.

Click here to watch video of the rescue and continue reading

As reported in the Review

Bystanders shocked by man’s plunge over falls
Hundreds witness amazing fall, dramatic rescue
Posted By Corey Larocque

When you plan a trip to Niagara Falls, a man going over the falls isn’t the kind of sight you can ever plan for.

But hundreds of people near the falls Wednesday afternoon saw a man somehow survive after going over the Horseshoe Falls and then watched a well-coordinated rescue effort pull him to shore.

Aaron Malone and Jamie Cofer, tourists from Knoxville, Tenn., were leaving a gift shop at Table Rock House about 2:10 p.m., when they heard people near the brink of the Horseshoe Falls (more…)

As reported in the Review

Teamwork results in falls rescue, firefighter says
Firefighter takes plunge to pull man to shore
Posted By Corey Larocque

Firefighters have to be ready for anything, but a polar-bear dip into the icy water at the base of Niagara Falls is a unique challenge this city’s fire department trains for.

“That’s my first ice-water rescue – outside of training,” said Todd Brunning, the 34-year-old firefighter who jumped into the Niagara River and swam out to save a man who went over the Horseshoe Falls and lived.

Brunning credits the water-rescue training the Niagara Falls fire department does and the teamwork with other emergency agencies for a successful but unusual rescue Wednesday afternoon. (more…)

Niagara Falls Video of the Day: Crazy Man!! On Ice at Niagara Falls

From Youtube user: ehnanuk
Added: January 07, 2008

“The title says it all! He crossed the walled barrier at Niagara Falls to perform the 2 step. He slipped a few times while walking around and he did lay down by the rock out-cropping and peered down the falls. He eventually did come back to the wall and was pulled over by a couple of his friends. The Police, to my knowledge did not show up.”

Source: Niagara Gazette

NIAGARA FALLS: Rescue story of special interest to visitor

Virginia man visits spot of 1960 incident
By Don Glynn

Phil Badvini of Arlington, Va., took a little longer than the typical visitor Wednesday when he toured Terrapin Point.

A short distance upstream from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls. Badvini stopped for a closer look along the railing between the pathway and the treacherous currents. (more…)

Printed from the Review

A rusty Falls icon turns 90
Ceremony recalls day Red Hill saved men stranded on scow
Posted By JENNIFER PELLEGRINI REVIEW STAFF WRITER

The rusty scow – perched on a small piece of land in the Niagara River about 2,500 feet above the Horseshoe Falls -is a reminder of what could have been.

Today it remains an icon for millions of tourists, easily visible from shore stranded on its perch just above the falls.

It was just around 3 p. m. on Aug. 6, 1918 when a tug owned by the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. of Buffalo struck a sandbar, colliding with

enough force to snap the line, causing the unnamed vessel it was pulling to drift toward the brink of the falls.

The scow was loaded with silt dredged from the Niagara Falls Power Co.’s U. S. intake canal. Only the quick thinking of the two men on board, 51-year-old Gustav Lofberg and 53-year-old James Harris, both from Buffalo, prevented it from going over the edge.

The two released the dumping doors and flooded the scow’s lower compartments, slowing it down and eventually allowing it to run aground on rocks. (more…)

Printed by the Review

Injured hiker rescued from gorge
Posted By BY JOHN ROBBINS REVIEW STAFF WRITER

Niagara Falls firefighters went out on a limb to rescue a hiker who injured himself after falling roughly five metres down a rocky slope of the Niagara Gorge, in Queenston about five kilo-metres downstream from Niagara Falls.

The incident happened around 6 p. m. Sunday.

Specially trained Niagara Falls firefighters, with the assistance of Niagara Parks Police and Niagara Emergency Medical Services paramedics, located the 27-year-old Brampton man, stabilized him, then placed him in a covered basket. (more…)

Printed by the Review

Rescue crews go way up; Training exercise prepares them for work in gorge
Posted By ALISON LANGLEY

For Canadian and American emergency service workers, it was truly high-level training with Niagara Helicopters.

A team of about 20 people underwent helicopter short-haul training Friday, which involves suspending rescuers on a 40-metre rope underneath a helicopter and flying them a short distance to conduct a rescue in a location that would be too dangerous or time consuming by other means.

Participants were tethered in pairs and flown from Niagara Helicopters on Victoria Avenue to a landing pad at the bottom of the Niagara gorge. The flight took approximately two minutes.

First developed in Switzerland in the 1960s, the local version of the program started as a joint venture between the Niagara Parks Police and Niagara Helicopters in 2003. (more…)

Source: CTV.ca

Police trying to ID man swept over Niagara Falls

Updated Sun. Feb. 24 2008 9:25 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Niagara Regional Police are searching for the identity of a man who was swept over the Canadian side of Niagara Falls Saturday afternoon.

Acting Staff Sgt. Dave Shennan of the Niagara Regional Police told CTV.ca Sunday evening that police do not expect the man to have survived.

“It would be a miracle,” he said by phone, adding that police are not actively searching for any body.

Click here to continue reading.

Niagara Falls Video of the Day: Conquering Niagara by National Geographic

High quality documentary: “Conquering Niagara” by National Geographic, detailing Niagara Falls’ daredevil history.