Emergency crews perform hillside rescue in Bella Vista
Posted on Friday, August 15, 2008
Photograph by Dr. Calvin Bain Dick Hise, in the rescue basket, was comforted by his wife, Helen, after Bella Vista firefighters raised him from the bottom of a 60-foot- to 70-foot-deep gully behind his Bella Vista home Tuesday night. Kneeling beside Hise is Bella Vista Fire Department firefighter / paramedic Jeff Long. Other Fire Department personnel pictured are, from left, Battalion Chief Terry Whiteside and Chief Steve Sims.
BELLA VISTA - Firefighters had to use a pulley and a rescue basket Tuesday night to rescue a man from the bottom of a deep ravine.
Dick Hise, 76, was working in his backyard on Cullen Hills Drive around 6 p.m. when he lost his footing and fell down the hill. He slid through trees and on rocks until he came to rest an estimated 60 feet to 70 feet below his yard.
Hise's wife, Helen, walked onto their back porch just moments after he fell and heard his calls for help. She placed a phone call to their neighbor, Calvin Bain, who instructed her to call 911.
When the call for help went out, Fire Chief Steve Sims said he was visiting with Bella Vista Alderwoman Arline Hutchinson about the Fire Department's need for more personnel, he said.
When he realized what was occurring, he thought it was the perfect situation for Hutchinson to see the men at work.
Members of an ambulance crew were already at the bottom of the hill when the chief and Hutchinson arrived.
A rescue basket was lowered. Ropes to pull it back up were secured to nearby trees.
Sims said the basket had to be pulled at an angle, which slowed the process. Rescuers had to stop at least three times to adjust the ropes.
Hise was in the ambulance and ready to head to the hospital by 6: 37 p.m.
He was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Rogers. According to Bain, Hise suffered multiple breaks in his left wrist and a laceration on his forehead. He was also complaining of back pain.
Hutchinson said it was amazing to watch Hise's rescue.
"The alarming part is that no one was at the Highlands station," she said, referring to the fact that all the staff members from the station were at the scene.
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