Firemen tell lifesaver: hands off our rescue
Noted in Scotsman
Published Date: 28 April 2010
By ALASTAIR DALTON
A MAN who has rescued people from the River Clyde for 50 years was yesterday embroiled in a row with firefighters after claiming to have saved a drowning woman they were also attempting to reach.
George Parsonage, of the Glasgow Humane Society, said he had pulled the victim from the water because Strathclyde Fire and Rescue's boats would not have reached her in time.
Firefighters are also believed to have shouted to police to arrest Mr Parsonage for going into the river, and he said three people holding the rope he was attached to were "chased away".
However, the fire service said its rescue craft were "seconds" away and Mr Parsonage, 66, had to be helped from the river. Fire officials are also understood to be angry that Mr Parsonage "needlessly interfered" with its rescue operation
The woman, thought to be in her 20s, was detained in Glasgow Royal Infirmary overnight for observation and was due to have been discharged yesterday.
The incident happened between Albert Bridge and a weir beside Glasgow Green, east of the city centre, just before 8pm on Monday. It is not clear if the woman jumped into the river
Mr Parsonage, who lives beside the river on Glasgow Green, said he had been alerted by a member of the public to a woman in the water at the weir.
He said firefighters were already on the scene and trying to reach her with ropes. He said: "When I arrived, she was lying on her back and sinking. I reached into the water and grabbed her. I will not sit back and let someone drown. However, when I called to those holding my safety line to haul me in, it had become detached because they had been ordered off the river."
Mr Parsonage said the woman would otherwise have drowned and he did not see the rescue craft until after the woman had been taken to an ambulance.
He said: "I saved a woman they would not have. I thought the boats would not have reached her in time.
Mr Parsonage, who has saved more than 1,500 people from the Clyde, said he was not ready to retire. He said: "I know when to quit. I will be the first to tell myself to quit if I am not capable."
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, was on the scene within ten minutes of the alarm being raised.
A spokesman said firefighters threw lines across the woman's body at least three times and an inflated hose was floating next to her, but she repeatedly refused to grab them.
He said two high-speed water rescue craft were also launched from beside the Tall Ship, about one mile downstream. Mr Parsonage reached the woman as the craft were one third of a mile (600m) away, he added.
The spokesman said: "At the time Mr Parsonage was with the woman, the firefighters on board the rescue craft would have been able to reach the woman within seconds and have rescued her from the water in a controlled and safe manner.
"Mr Parsonage experienced difficulties getting back to the shore. At one point he was not connected to the shore by his line and he and the woman had to be assisted out of the river and on to the bank by firefighters using the inflated hose."
Fire service sources said police had had to escort people from the river bank because of the danger of them sliding into the water.
Modest hero who dearly wished to be redundant
GEORGE Parsonage's legendary heroism in saving people from the River Clyde in Glasgow was recognised when he was made an MBE by the Queen in 1999.
The art teacher had been helping his father Ben with river rescues since the age of 14.
However, when his father died 31 years ago, George found himself filling his father's shoes when police called for his help, not knowing Ben had died.
Mr Parsonage took over as sole officer of the Glasgow Humane Society, which was established in 1790 as the first of many across the world as a reaction to religious censure of attempted suicides, which was considered a criminal act.
Mr Parsonage, 66, who lives at the Glasgow Green base of the society, where he was born, said he had lost count of the number of people he had saved from the river, which was estimated at 1,500 five years ago.
He was made an MBE for his "great physical strength, calm courage and mental alertness in emergency situations".
On receiving the honour, he said: "I am one of the few people in this world who wish to be redundant."
In 2005, police were told not to call on his assistance because of health and safety fears over Mr Parsonage working alone. Responsibility for water rescue lies with Strathclyde Fire and Rescue.
Noted many letters of support for GHS actions by public by e mail to Scotsman newspaper---these e mails are archived