Firefighters' exercise recalls 1978 tragedy

When the Findlay Fire Department extended a truck ladder from the south bank of the Blanchard River over the placid waterfalls at Riverside Park Friday morning, it drew onlookers. Besides helping firefighters gauge how far the ladder could reach if needed for a water rescue, the exercise served spellbound park visitors a notice of how dangerous the waterfalls can be. In 1978, with the river swollen, two Findlay teenagers — Michael D. Armstrong and Troy Lee Best — drowned when they tried to shoot across the dam in a canoe, which capsized. Two Findlay firefighters also perished when they tried to rescue them. Those two firefighters — Roland "Rusty" G. Smith Jr. and William C. VanAtta — are memorialized on the north side of the river near the waterfalls. In that 1978 incident, firefighters attempted a rescue by extending a ladder from the north side, but the ladder did not reach far enough, said firefighter Dave Morse. "We just didn't have the equipment then," he said. "So the guys went in and their boat got swamped." Three firefighters were in the boat, and one survived. "James B. Waaland, 46, of 2801 Western Ave., was saved when he clung to a rope connected to the rescue rowboat and was pulled ashore by other firemen at the scene," The Courier reported on April 25, 1978. When the river is swollen, water flowing over the dam hits the river bottom then churns back toward the dam, even from 15 to 20 feet away, Morse said. So anyone caught in the "boil" keeps getting swept back toward the dam and then pushed to the river bottom, Morse said. Accounts in The Courier in April 1978 reported a horrifying scene of firefighters struggling in and above the river and from the banks. An eyewitness said the three firefighters, in their rescue attempt, put their boat in the water about 20 feet below the dam, The Courier reported on April 24, 1978. "A rope, thrown from the shore, was attached to the boat after it was in the water," The Courier reported, citing an eyewitness account. "The firemen began rowing toward the dam, but were forced into it when the boat crossed the current. "Water poured into the front of the boat, partially filling it. The men on shore began pulling the rope, putting the boat in a north-south direction," The Courier reported. "The current forced the boat into the dam a second time, filling it completely with water and causing it to flip over." One of the boys was pulled into the boat just before it capsized, the eyewitness told The Courier. "VanAtta let go of the boat to help Smith, who was struggling to swim against the current," The Courier reported. With the ladder extended over the waterfalls, rescuers tried to hook VanAtta with a grappling hook and pole hook, an eyewitness told The Courier. "However, in his haste, VanAtta had failed to fasten the jacket properly. So when the bucket (on the ladder) began to swing him toward the shore, he slipped out of the jacket," The Courier reported. "The combination of the swift current and murky waters made diving to search for the bodies impossible," The Courier reported. The effort to prevent another tragedy continues. On Friday, firefighters were testing how much reach they would have by extending ladders from both sides of the river simultaneously. Friday was the first time the Fire Department extended a ladder from the south bank. "We can get in with our boats and do different things, but this would be a quicker response," Morse said. "We have a lot better options now (than in 1978) with ropes and different kinds of harnesses and flotation devices that we can use. But just seeing what kind of reach is the point of what we're doing today." Wilin: 419-427-8413