Teen rescued from mud at Scales Pond

KINKORA - A Kinkora area teenager is back in school today, but considering himself lucky to be alive after a terrifying incident Monday evening when he got stuck up to his armpits in deep, treacherous mud at Scales Pond.
Kinkora firefighters used shovels and even their own hands in a frantic rescue operation that lasted over an hour and a half. By the time 16 firefighters arrived at the scene near the International Children's Memorial Place in South Freetown, the mud was almost to the teen's armpits.
The dam at Scales Pond failed on April 4 and a flood of water and mud was carried downstream. But countless tons of deep mud has remained on the bottom of the exposed pond.
The youngster, who is in his early teens, was motor biking with a friend in the area of the pond Monday evening when they decided to walk down to the water's edge. Both teens are from the Kinkora - Freetown area.
Both boys got stuck in the mud, but one teen managed to free himself. Attempts to help his friend escape failed and the boy finally called his father for help. The father came to the scene, saw the extreme danger and called the Kinkora fire department.
The boy's mother arrived a short time later and was on the scene while firefighters worked to free her son.
Kinkora fire Chief Ron Farris explained that once you get about 10 feet from shore, the mud is very soft, heavy and sticky. "This is not normal mud, this is river bottom mud."
The youngster first got stuck at approximately 5:30 p.m. and firemen got the call at 7 p.m. It took them until 8:30 p.m. to free the teen.
"The mud was so heavy and sticky, it kept sucking him down farther the more he struggled to get free. He would never have gotten out on his own," said Farris.
Farris said that to gain safe access, firefighters laid down ladders and utilized some 4x8 foot wide plastic sheets that a member had nearby, and used them as platforms to work around the youngster.
Firefighters had to excavate the youngster almost to his knees to get him out. Firefighters had to use rope and harness to complete the rescue operation.
Farris said firefighters had to be careful as they excavated the mud around the youngster with shovels and hands because any extra pressure would force the mud back in on top of the youngster.
"At first he seemed more embarrassed than anything for getting himself caught in that situation," said Farris. But the situation became more serious the more the teen struggled to work free, and the deeper he sank into the mud.
"The boy was quite tired. He recently had a cast taken off a broken arm and we were concerned about that extra strain," said Farris.
Rescuers wrapped the teen up on a backboard and carried him to an EMS ambulance waiting near the entrance to the International Children's Memorial Park.
The teen was cold and shaken by the experience when he was finally freed and taken by ambulance to Prince County Hospital where he was examined, treated and released.
Farris said the plucky youngster was on the bus Tuesday morning and went to school at Somerset Elementary.