By Perry Smith and Katherine Quezada
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies and Fire Department personnel worked together Monday in an attempt to rescue a small dog that was believed to be trapped in a storm drain.
But after about two hours of the rescue efforts, officials were unable to locate the dog, said Capt. David Dantic of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station, said deputies responded to the 22500 block of Circle J Ranch Road regarding the rescue call for an animal.
Edith Lai of the L.A. County Fire Department indicated there were more than six units on the scene for an animal rescue reported at 7:16 a.m. on Circle J Ranch Road, adding that the large presence of six engines was the result of the Urban Search and Rescue Team’s deployment, as well as one of the stations responding with a Hazardous Materials Team
“Our Urban Search and Rescue Team did do a confined space rescue from two entry points for a total of 150 feet in each direction, from each entry point of the sewage drain. Our findings were nothing,” Dantic said at the scene of the rescue operation. “We’re not able to find the dog.”
The 9-1-1 caller reported to have heard a dog in the storm drain, and the first responding firefighters on the scene also heard it, according to Dantic, but by approximately 10 a.m. rescue efforts were beginning to be canceled.
“We do not know how far the tunnel system goes, so our hope is that (the dog) got out on its own, and we were not able to see it,” Dantic said.
He added that efforts to get Search and Rescue past the drainage were prolonged due to identifying the carbon monoxide levels underneath the tight access, and even with the high level of training and preparation for situations like this, they’re still required to take safety measures.
“We have to provide for our safety first … make sure that our people going in are safe as well,” Dantic said, adding that no matter dog or human, their efforts will always be to rescue the subject.
Lai said there was no indication of a HazMat concern, but the team was part of the initial emergency response due its proximity to the call.
