On Tuesday, April 4, 2006 at 6:24 p.m., six companies of Los Angeles firefighters, two LAFD rescue ambulances, one heavy rescue, one urban search and rescue unit, two LAFD helicopters, one EMS battalion captain, one battalion chief officer command team and two swift water rescue teams under the direction of Assistant Chief Roderick Garcia responded to a wwift water rescue near 16721 Sherman Way in West Van Nuys.

Firefighters on the ground and in the air arrived quickly to commence a brief search for a boy reportedly swept away by the shallow yet fierce current of Bull Creek. The concrete-lined urban tributary, fed by recent storms, had nearly five feet of rapidly moving cold water, enough to entrap, immobilize and imperil even the strongest of adult swimmers.

The muffled cries of the 12-year-old victim had been heard by a nearby resident who called 9-1-1 after discovering the young man clinging to a concrete vertical bridge abutment in the center of the channel.

Firefighters, including LAFD swift water rescue team members, soon arrived at the north side of the Sherman Way overpass and commenced a ground-based rescue operation with harness and rigging as a fire department helicopter hovered overhead.

Additional LAFD resources were staged downstream.

Using an LAFD aerial ladder in a crane-like fashion, a harnessed firefighter was lowered 25 feet into the steep walled channel, where he tethered the wet and shivering boy, placing him in a flotation vest and rescue harness. The firefighter then offered the boy comfort and reassurance during their joint ascent to the roadway above.

Conscious yet exhibiting mild signs of hypothermia, the youth, who suffered no obvious injuries, was briefly assessed street-side before being assisted to a waiting ambulance. His wet clothes were removed in the ambulance as warming measures were instituted during a routine transport to nearby Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys.

He arrived in good condition.

LAFD ground crews and helicopters performed a brief aerial reconnaissance of the region. No other victims were discovered and there were no other injuries. The reason for the boy initially being in or near the river was not immediately determined by fire department officials.