High Drama: Photog Captures Njsp Rescue Of Clifton Firefighters From Passaic River

Freelance photographer Boyd A. Loving captured the drama Wednesday afternoon as two Clifton firefighters were plucked from the Passaic River by a New Jersey State Police chopper after they'd gone in to rescue a construction crew.

Boyd A. Loving captured the airborne drama above the Passaic River in Garfield.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

The two Clifton firefighters stranded at the bottom of the falls at the Dundee Dam on the Passaic River await their rescuers.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

The rescuer comes for the second Clifton firefighters at the bottom of the Dundee Dam in the Passaic River on Wednesday, June 28.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

A New Jersey State Police helicopter came to the rescue of the Clifton firefighters stranded in the Passaic River.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

Crowds of first responders and civilians watched as the NJSP rescued the two Clifton firefighters stranded at the bottom of the Dundee Dam in the Passaic River in Garfield.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

The Clifton firefighters await their rescuers at the bottom of the Dundee Dam in the Passaic River.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

New Jersey State Police to the rescue.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

The Clifton Fire Department boat is seen drifting toward the falls. A firefighter jumps out before it slides down the falls with the other two firefighters aboard.

Photo Credit: Heidi Yarmula

Jerry DeMarco

06/28/2023 7:00 p.m.

The three-member crew was clearing trees and brush from the river when their boat got snagged at the top of the Dundee Dam, which has a 20-foot drop to a lower section of the river below.

Firefighters from Clifton, Garfield and Elmwood Park put boats into the river to rescue the trio.

At some point, the Clifton boat began to tip over the side of the falls. A firefighter jumped out while two of his colleagues rode the boat down.

WATCH:

Additional craft were called to assist, the U.S. Coast Guard was notified and a dive team was placed on standby.

The construction workers were brought to safety, along with the firefighter who’d jumped.

The two who went over the falls were then handled by the State Police helicopter, which lowered a rescuer to pluck them from the river one at a time as crowds of emergency responders and civilians looked on.

The firefighters were then brought to ambulances at nearby Nash Park.

New Jersey State Police Lt. Rick Villa, Sgt. First Class Jason Jorgensen, Sgt. Andrew Stephanic, Trooper I Stephen Brown and flight nurse Burke Barnett of Aviation North, along with Trooper II Shamik Songui of T.E.A.M.S. North, handled the rescue.

The smashed boat remained at the bottom of the falls, at least temporarily.

ALL PHOTOS BY BOYD A. LOVING

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