GALVESTON, Texas – The Galveston firefighters who rescued eight Houston students stranded nearly 100 feet in the air on a stalled roller coaster said the operation required hours of planning, improvisation and patience to prevent what could have become a tragedy.
The students were trapped Thursday on the Iron Shark roller coaster at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier after the ride malfunctioned and stopped just short of its highest point.
Firefighters spent more than four hours bringing the children safely back to the ground after learning the ride’s emergency evacuation elevator was out of service.
“We weren’t going to have a child fall on our watch,” Capt. John Fearrington of the Galveston Fire Department said. “We made sure everything was done by the book.”
The rescue depended on the department’s 105-foot ladder truck, which had returned to service less than 24 hours earlier after being out for maintenance for two months.
“We just so happened to get it back day before yesterday, so perfect timing,” engineer James Kothmann said.
According to firefighters, the call initially came in as a rescue at Pleasure Pier.
“We just assumed that that was going to be some type of ride issue,” Capt. Mark Morgan Jr. said.
The department had trained for a similar scenario in the past, but firefighters soon learned the ride’s evacuation equipment was not operational.
“We were going to have to switch gears and improvise,” Morgan said.
The ladder was extended to more than 100 feet, leaving firefighters with only a few feet of reach to spare.
Kothmann said positioning the truck was especially difficult because crews had to maneuver the ladder through sections of the coaster structure while avoiding overhead track components.
“It was very tight,” he said.
When firefighters reached the students, Fearrington said several were crying and asking how they would be rescued.
Rather than immediately beginning the technical portion of the operation, firefighters focused on reassuring the children.
“We just said, ‘Hey, this is who we are. This is what we’re going to do. You’re in good hands,’” Fearrington said.
Crews joked with the students and carefully explained each step of the rescue process.
“Once they see that we’re calm, they typically calm down,” Fearrington said.
Firefighters fitted each student with a safety harness before releasing the roller coaster restraints. Fearrington said every step was carefully explained and repeatedly checked before anyone was moved.
“I had at some point them clipped onto me,” Fearrington said. “I said, ‘If something happens to you, I’m going with you.’”
At one stage of the rescue, Fearrington detached from the ladder bucket and secured himself directly to the coaster.
“If something happens to our tower truck, I’m up here stuck with y’all,” he recalled telling the students.
Firefighters rescued the students one at a time using harnesses and the department’s aerial ladder, eventually bringing all eight safely back to the ground.
Kothmann said the relief on their faces was immediate.
“You could see the relief — like, ‘I made it. I’m on solid ground,’” he said.
Despite the stress of the situation, firefighters said the students eventually began joking with them.
One student told firefighters it was her first attempt at riding a roller coaster after friends convinced her to get on.
Another student left such an impression that he may have inspired a future career choice.
“He’s like, he thinks he wants to be a firefighter now,” Fearrington said.
The rescue quickly drew national and international attention as videos and images circulated online.
For the firefighters involved, however, the focus remained on safely bringing the students home.
“Anything can happen,” Morgan said. “We’re asked to do some of the most small, minute jobs, or we could come to work and it’s what happened yesterday. It’s a rewarding career and a rewarding job to be able to feel like you did something to help people.”
Fearrington said the length of the rescue reflected the department’s commitment to safety.
“One mistake could have turned an inconvenience into a tragedy,” he said. “We weren’t going to have a child fall on our watch.”