Lifeguard ‘threatened with arrest’ over river rescue bid
Noted in Herald
ALISON CAMPSIE
27 Apr 2010
A veteran lifeguard has claimed the fire brigade tried to stop him from rescuing a drowning woman from the Clyde.
George Parsonage, 66, who runs the Glasgow Humane Society, alleged that fire officers called for police to arrest him as he went to enter the water by Glasgow Green.
An eyewitness has backed up his account.
Mr Parsonage had been alerted to the emergency by a passerby, who spotted the woman, believed to be in her twenties, floating in the water near the weir close to Albert Bridge last night.
When he arrived at the scene, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue – who are now in charge of water rescue on the Clyde – were throwing lines into the water in a bid to reach the woman. Two rescue boats had been scrambled.
Mr Parsonage, who has carried out 1,500 water rescues over 50 years, went to enter the water to get closer to the woman. His boat was unable to reach her because of the strong currents at the weir so he went into the water with a life jacket and ropes.
However, he said fire officers attempted to stop him getting involved, and claimed that a number of men who held his safety ropes were “scared off” by the authorities during the rescue, leaving him briefly without a secure line to shore.
“The fire brigade were all shouting at me, shouting to police ‘arrest that man’ and telling me I wasn’t going in the water.
“I am not going to stand-by and watch someone drown.
“The fire brigade do a fantastic job but all I ask is that they get to the stage that when there are people in the vicinity who have expert knowledge, they are allowed to assist.”
“By the time I got to the woman, she had stopped struggling. She was sinking. It was a very, very close call.”
The woman was brought to shore and taken to hospital.
Group Commander Jim Cavanagh, of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service, said last night that it was too early to comment on the specific incident but added that the fire service had responsibility for rescue on the Clyde.
He said: “Initially, in a situation like this, you throw lines in to first reach the person. Safety is the prime concern and when you are conducting a rescue you have to do it within the safety threshold.”
“If we are on the scene for a rescue, we prefer that we carry out that kind of work. We have got the personnel, the training and the resources to do so.”
Eye witness Martin Douglas, 36, a music teacher from Bridgeton, said: “I first saw the fire brigade throwing ropes at the woman but she wasn’t actually taking them. George came in with a life jacket on and a rope and a couple of guys were helping him.
“I have to say I was quite surprised at the level of consternation from the fire brigade towards George. I heard them shouting to the police to arrest George as he was trying to get into the water to help the woman.
“It was clear that what the fire brigade was doing at that time wasn’t working.”