A Dry Run

SANTA ANA — Dozens of firefighters and other rescuers rushed Monday to positions along the Santa Ana River after two boys reportedly fell into the dangerously swift river near a bridge at Edinger Avenue in Santa Ana.

But when the call turned out to be a false alarm, Santa Ana firefighters seized the opportunity to conduct swift-water drills, including the use of a new anchor point system installed at the Edinger bridge in recent months.

The system, which consists of two metal brackets with loops fastened by two bolts permanently drilled deep into the concrete embankment, was the brainchild of firefighter James Robertson, whose hobby is mountaineering.

It allows firefighters who are called to a swift-water rescue to immediately hook on with a climber’s carabineers, rappel down the steep 25-foot embankment and then to the river’s edge--using a strong anchor line.

“The cost for the hardware for these stainless steel bolts is only about $10,” Robertson said. “And if they can help save a life, that’s a deal.”

Deputy Chief Wayne Bowman said Robertson’s idea, originally tried in Los Angeles County, has been well received, although it is located only at the Edinger bridge.

The Fire Department is applying to the Orange County flood control division for permission to install the anchor systems at all bridges spanning the river in Santa Ana.

“Once that happens,” Bowman said, “it’s our intent to pass this idea along to the other Orange County fire services.”

During the drill, firefighters donned life jackets and helmets and rappelled down the river’s concrete sides. With one firefighter holding onto the rope, several firefighters took turns tossing a canvas bag tied to a rope out into the river.

The object is to throw the lifeline as the victim swims by, Robertson said. This will give the river victim something to grab or latch onto.

Once approval is given by the county, anchors will be put in place on both sides of the river, enabling firefighters to toss lifelines from each bank and increase their chances of a successful recovery.

Monday’s false alarm did not dispel the river’s danger to the public, authorities said.

When the call came in about 9 a.m., firefighters and police from Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa rushed to nearly every bridge west of the location while a helicopter searched overhead.

Safety crews were stationed downriver with a Newport Beach lifeguard jet ski, joined by marine swift-water rescue teams from Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa.

“We had emergency units on most of the bridges from Edinger into Huntington Beach,” said Santa Ana Battalion Chief John Chambers. “A 15-year-old girl reported that she saw two kids who were riding bicycles fall into the river.”

But authorities later rejected the girl’s account after she told them the boys fell in the raging river and swam upstream, against the river’s surging, 10- to 12-mile-an-hour current.

“She was unreliable,” said Chambers, looking out at the full river which was flowing bank to bank. “The river’s current is just too swift to believe that someone could swim upstream.”

Recent rains have sent thousands of gallons of muddy water down the Santa Ana River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean at the border of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.

“One foot of water can knock over an adult and cause bodily harm,” said Bill Reiter, operations manager for the county’s public works agency.

In addition, the riverbed has concrete structures in it that actually increase the flow of water, he said.

“It’s a dangerous place for kids right now,” Reiter said. “No question about it.”