Firefighters from East Pierce Fire and Rescue, including members of the Technical Rescue Team who were on duty Saturday, saved a 12-year-old boy who had fallen down a steep embankment above the White River.

The firefighters responded to the call just before 9 p.m. in the Quiet Water subdivision, staging the equipment at 26th Street East and 220th Avenue East. According to reports, the two boys had been exploring the area near the river when one of the boys lost his footing and fell down the embankment toward the river. Although he sustained only minor injuries, the terrain was too steep and he was too tired to crawl back up. As the boy held onto a branch, his friend ran to a nearby home to get a rope. The home owner called 911.

East Pierce Lieutenant Kevin Stabenfeldt, a member of the Technical Rescue Team, was harnessed and lowered approximately 50 feet down the embankment for a high-angle rescue, said East Pierce Deputy Chief John McDonald, who was also on scene. The firefighters brought the boy up without incident.

“The paramedics checked the young man out. He was treated at the scene and released to his mother,” McDonald said. “The entire operation took about 40 minutes.”