Teenage boy visits Ashton fire crew to thank them for saving his life

A teenage boy has visited fire fighters in Ashton to thank them for potentially saving his life.

During the heavy downpour across Greater Manchester on July 31, fire crews dealt with a number of weather and flood-related incidents.

One of those was the rescue of 14-year-old Luke Garnett from fast-flowing water at Happy Valley Nature Reserve in Bramhall.

Crews used throwlines and an inflatable path to get Luke out of the water and following the incident, Luke’s dad Andy contacted Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to personally thank the firefighters for saving his son’s life.

Station Manager Rob McDonagh, who was in charge of the incident, explained: “Luke became trapped in fast-flowing water and was holding onto tree roots to stop him getting swept downstream when we arrived at the incident.

This video shows the force of the water that Luke was trapped in.

Station Manager Rob McDonagh said: "Our crews did an amazing job and quickly carried out the challenging rescue."

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— Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (@manchesterfire) August 12, 2019

“Our crews did an amazing job and quickly carried out the challenging rescue. Members from our Technical Rescue Unit from Ashton held Luke in place to stop him getting swept away and then brought him to safety on the bank using ropes, while firefighters from the other stations provided support downstream.”

Luke escaped from the incident with just cuts and bruises and last Thursday, he and Andy visited Ashton Community Fire Station to meet and thank those involved in the incident.

Luke’s dad, Andy, said: “Luke and I are extremely grateful for the bravery shown by the firefighters during the incident.

“We are really pleased to have met with the crews involved and were able to say a big thank you for their efforts.”

Rob, who also attended the ‘rescue reunite’ event, said: “It was nice to see Luke and his dad at the rescue reunite event. They were really grateful for the work we carried out to rescue Luke from the fast-flowing water.

“This kind of thing is also great for our firefighters, as they rarely get to meet those who they rescue during incidents.”