WGNO

Firefighters, police rescue Oklahoma woman trapped by rushing water

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Quickly rising and quickly rushing waters left an Oklahoma City woman in a dangerous situation Monday morning.

“You know, Oklahoma,” said Capt. Scott Douglas, with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. “The rains, they came so quick and rose real fast.”


Firefighters say the woman actually called 911 herself, pleading for help as she was stuck near a tunnel.

“Notifying us, the water’s rising quickly, ‘I feel like I’m about to be swept away,'” Douglas said. 

Police were first on the scene near N.W. 39th and Youngs, right off I-44.

“They threw her a life jacket, they also threw her a life line, so they tied her off quickly,” said Douglas. 

A careful team effort of Oklahoma City police officers, firefighters and dive teams followed.

“They trained for this every day and this was an opportunity to show what they do,” Douglas said. 

Finally, as they lifted her to dry land, there was a sigh of relief.

First responders say they’re not sure how or why the woman got in this situation but say areas like this are not a place of shelter in storms.

“A lot of people do underestimate that just a little bit of water has so much power,” said Douglas. “It’s easy to underestimate. That’s why these are very, very dangerous. People want to seek shelter, but just even a foot or two of water, you can get swept away very quickly.”

The woman was treated at the scene and is expected to be OK.