Stay out of storm drains: Calgary Fire
Posted Jun 20, 2019 9:41 pm.
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CALGARY (660 NEWS) — The Calgary Fire Department is out with a warning after they were called to rescue a child from a storm drain in the northwest.
Around 2 p.m., on Thursday Calgary Fire received a report that a child was possibly trapped in a storm drain.
According to CFD, a group of about eight children had been visiting the storm drain frequently over the last week.
“They all left after being down there for over an hour, dispersed, then couldn’t account for one of their friends and so called 911. As it turns out that friend was found safely at home, however it is a very troubling situation, because there are a lot of dangers when it comes to city infrastructure,” said Carol Henke, public information officer, Calgary Fire Department.
Henke adds that storm water infrastructure isn’t intended for recreational use.
“You have all sorts of potential pollutants down there, you have matter that is decomposing potentially, you can have H2S which is a deadly gas, that can be down there as well,” said Henke. “Plus, lets think about the weather. We have spontaneous rain here, we know that we are expecting a lot of rain in the forecast so if you are down there and all of sudden the sky opens up and the water levels rise and it is a very dangerous and potentially life threatening space to be.”
CFD is asking parents to have a conversation with their children and warn them to keep a safe distance from storm water infrastructure, such as manhole covers and drainage outfalls.
