15-Year-Old Boy Impaled on Wrought Iron Fence Rescued by New York City Firefighters

Mar. 15, 2025

A 15-year-old boy from Ridgewood, Queens, is in stable condition after he fell on a wrought iron fence on Tuesday, Feb. 4, causing a spike to go through his left leg, authorities said.

“We had a call for a 15-year-old impaled on a fence,” New York City Fire Department Assistant Chief John Sarrocco said at anews conference. “We were able to extricate that 15-year-old from the fence [and] give critical care on the scene.”

He was then transported to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.

The teen, who attends Grover Cleveland High School, was walking home from school when he and some friends started “horsing around” near a fence, according to the news conference.

Fire department Lt. Mark Martinez explained that the boy was shoved into the fence and a friend fell on top of him, causing a spike to impale the boy’s leg.

After the fire department arrived on the scene, it took 10 minutes to extricate him. The crew had to use bandsaws to carefully cut the iron fence without endangering the boy.

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“We cut the vertical bars going up. Three of them,” said Martinez. “Then we cut the horizontal top piece to keep everything in one piece so this way, you can transport it all together so you’re not injuring the person more.”

The injured teen was reportedly calm during the rescue and is recovering from the ordeal.

The situation could have ended much differently if not for the expertise of the firefighters, who had recently practiced using the band saws.

source: people.com