An 18-year-old Florida woman was pulled from the Wintergreen Gorge in Harborcreek Township after first responders got a call for help late Sunday evening.

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After an hour and a half, first responders successfully rescued the woman after plunging into a water hole around 5 p.m. Sunday. Fortunately, the woman was pulled from the first swim hole three miles from Cooper Road entrance.

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Despite the safe rescue mission, Brookside Fire Chief Campy Dahlkemper said, “They still have to carry her out a mile, a mile and a half to where we could get her up. But it's not as bad as back by the backbone."

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Using utility task vehicles, the woman was transferred via ambulance to the Saint Vincent Hospital, where she was treated for a possible leg injury.

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The water hole, in which the woman jumped into from a rope swing, was four feet deep, instead of eight feet deep, due to lack of rain.

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Although there are signs which prohibit swimming in the gorge, Dahlkemper knows that misjudgments and accidents will happen.

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“Just be safe,” he said. “Be with somebody. Be with friends. Be safe. Check the water before you jump into it. It may look deep, but it's not."

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Behrend Station Commander, Lieutenant Jim Amann, stated that the incident did not take place on Penn State Behrend property, although the campus owns certain areas of the Wintergreen Gorge.

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However, Lieutenant Amann has witnessed several other accidents in the gorge which have taken place over the summer months.

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“Over the course of a summer, fire and rescue forces will pull three to four people out of the gorge,” Amann said. “Most of the time, it’s people who are jumping off rope swings or ledges into shallow water holes.”

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Amann stated that the fire department plans ahead when taking control of these rescue missions.

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“They never know what they’re going to end up needing, so they bring everything,” Amann stated. “A lot of people don’t know that the fire dept. uses all-terrain vehicles for these circumstances.”

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If you are ever confronted with a compromising situation like this where you are in danger, “call 911 and tell the 911 operator where you are and what happened and they will dispatch fire and rescue,” said Amann.

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The most important thing to remember is to not travel alone in the case of emergency and to make smart decisions so as to keep safety at the top of the priority list.