Galveston Fire Department says the rescue of eight students on Pleasure Pier ride was matter of training

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) — After the successful rescue of eight Houston ISD students who were stuck on the Pleasure Pier’s Iron Shark roller coaster in Galveston, the crew involved in the mission told ABC13 that the ordeal was a matter of training.

The Galveston Fire Department said it was dispatched after several reports Thursday that the carriage on the 100-foot vertical roller coaster suddenly stopped just as it reached the peak. The owners of Pleasure Pier said the ride malfunctioned and stopped as it was supposed to do in such situations.
RELATED: 8 students rescued from roller coaster that was stuck for hours at Pleasure Pier

The rescue “required them to do something they never had to do,” the department said.

As shown in the SkyEye13 video, firefighters took turns in the 105-foot ladder bucket to check on the students. The crew told ABC13’s Chaz Miller that the students were in good spirits but nervous.

The crew said their training for such situations requires a piece of equipment that helps people descend from high areas, which was broken on Thursday, prompting them to switch to other maneuvers.

“We started looking at what equipment we would need… and how we would handle it, but fortunately, everything went well,” Galveston FD Capt. John Featherington said. Normally, officials said, the crew would have to harness it and attach it securely to something, then triple-check the operation.

Even then, the rescue went perfectly, Fetherington said, as the students sat for nearly four hours waiting in the sun.

“The goal was to harness them, but you also have to tie them to something secure. You need something to stop them if they fall. At every step of the process you have to check, double-check, triple-check,” Fetherington said.

HISD confirmed that the students were on a field trip organized by Energized for STEM Academy Middle School and STEM Academy High School.

HISD said in a statement Thursday evening: “We are grateful that all students, staff and chaperones are safe. The school administration is in direct contact with the families of all students who were on the trip.”

One rider told ABC13 it was her first time on a roller coaster and she “never wanted to ride one.”

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