TROY, NY – On June 28, 2025, at 6:33 PM, the City of Troy Fire Department was dispatched to Burden Pond Preserve for a technical rescue. The caller reported that her foot was stuck between rocks, she had broken her ankle, and could not get out. Engine 3, Engine 6, the Rescue Squad, Medic 3, and the Battalion Chief responded to the scene.

Troy Police and Engine 3’s crew arrived and made their way into the preserve, where they found the patient in one of the preserve’s treacherous areas. Troy Police assisted the fire department by escorting the patient’s child to the fire apparatus staged in the nearby graveyard and stayed with the child while firefighters worked below. Firefighters from Engine 6 and the Rescue Squad began setting up a low-angle rescue rope system from the top of a hill about two hundred feet above the patient. Additionally, they brought in a Stokes basket and additional rope systems to reach the patient, who was in the water.

Firefighters assessed the patient’s injuries, provided advanced life support to stabilize her, and secured her in the Stokes basket.

Above, firefighters established another low-angle rescue system, anchoring multiple points and creating a pulley system to assist in raising the patient up the steep embankment. Once the patient was fully secured in the Stokes basket and fitted with a helmet, firefighters pulled the rescuers and patient out of the creek and up the embankment.

At the top, they disconnected the basket and hiked about one hundred feet to another steep hill, where another low-angle rigging system had been set up. After a brief pause to secure the basket and connect all team members to the rope system, firefighters at the top were ready to haul the patient and rescuers up the final two-hundred-foot hill.

Meanwhile, rescuers who had worked near the water dismantled and repacked equipment, transporting it to the midpoint for retrieval after the rescue. Firefighters carefully carried the patient up the steep hill, with the rigging team resetting the system multiple times to ensure a safe ascent.

Once at the top, the patient was transferred to the medic rig and transported to the hospital, with additional medical personnel from the Rescue Squad on board.

Afterwards, Troy firefighters retrieved all equipment from the preserve, repacked it onto the Rescue Squad, and took a short break before returning to service.

Safety Reminder: When visiting Burden Pond Preserve, carry a rescue whistle to assist first responders in locating you in an emergency, keep a fully charged cell phone with a backup battery, and if hiking alone, inform someone of your location.

The dedicated firefighters of Troy are highly trained in rope rescue and handle numerous calls each year within the city’s preserves, nature trails, bike paths, and gorge areas. Rensselaer County is fortunate to have multiple fire departments—including Poestenkill, City of Rensselaer, Nassau, and Defreestville—that are also highly trained in rope rescue and serve the county effectively.