Emergency Response Frees Boy From Sewer

By Andrew Gorosko

A small boy, who was playing along Greenbriar Lane on the afternoon of Thursday, June 12, got his arm stuck in a storm sewer grating, resulting in police, fire, and ambulance staffers responding to free him from his predicament.

When emergency staffers arrived at the scene near 14 Greenbriar Lane about 5 pm, they spotted the youth lying on his stomach with his right arm jammed into one of the rectangular openings of the horizontal metal grid, unable to free himself. The boy’s arm was jammed into the grating up to his elbow.

Police declined to identify the 4-year-old boy, but said he lives at 14 Greenbriar Lane.

Besides police, the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, plus Newtown Hook and Ladder, and Botsford firefighters went to the incident.

Newtown Hook and Ladder Fire Chief Dave Ober said emergency staffers employed two measures to free the boy’s trapped arm from the sewer grating.

They applied icy cold water to the boy’s arm to reduce swelling, which had occurred after his arm became trapped. Also, they lubricated the boy’s arm with liquid dishwashing soap to make it slippery enough to slide free from the grating.

Police Sergeant Doug Wisentaner said the boy apparently was playing and throwing rocks into the storm sewer, when for some reason he pushed his arm down through one of the sewer grate openings, resulting in his arm becoming trapped.

The sergeant estimated that the boy was freed within ten minutes after police, fire, and ambulance personnel learned of the problem. It is unclear, however, how long the boy’s arm was trapped in the grating before emergency personnel were called to the scene.

Ambulance crew members checked the boy at the scene for injuries and found no problem, the sergeant said.

An inspection of the storm sewer found there was no problem with the grating, he said.

Sgt Wisentaner said no criminal charges are being filed in connection with the incident. The sergeant added, however, that the police department’s youth officer and the state Department of Children and Families were alerted to the incident.