mh1425

For all your information the west point fire department recieved the call at 630pm did not locate the victims till about 930pm. Cadets had no harnesses and 50ft rope and were not properly trained on repelling. They were freshman. They were 1800ft above rt 218. They were trapped on a 6ft ledge. 5 rope rescue teams were dispatched through the mutual aide program. WestPpoint fire department did a department recall. WPFD has of the highest trained rope rescue technician in the state and he is nationally certified. Ground crew walked through waist deep snow with rope rescue equipment for about 5miles. The cadets were dressed in improper seasonal clothing. The incident commander followed policies and NYPD avaition was the last resource that would respond. SP were on scene with a helicopter with a spot light. USCG had no helicopters available cap may to boston that would do a rock face rescue. The reason the WPFD did not repel down is because they could not find a substantial anchor point to carry out the rescue safely.