CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Fire Department coaxed an 11-year-old autistic girl from a gully near icy waters in Bramble Park Wednesday evening, according to a report from the department.
Firefighters were dispatched at 5:59 p.m. Wednesday evening and learned the young girl was at the bottom of a gully, standing "precariously close" to a small body of icy water, according to the report.
"In consultation with her father, crews agreed upon a plan that would not unnerve the young girl to the point of entering the chilly water of unknown depth," reads the report from CFD.
Crews lowered an extension ladder down the steep slope of the gully and two firefighters — one in an ice suit, prepared to enter the cold water if necessary — climbed down to the girl.
The firefighters put a personal flotation device on the girl and successfully guided her to and up the ladder, "for an uneventful ascent and joyous reunion with her father," the CFD report says.
In all, the report says 13 firefighters responded to the scene, though only two climbed down to the girl's position on the bank of the water.
