A full-time bell ringer at Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria went into cardiac arrest in the bell tower Tuesday evening, requiring firefighters to use their rope skills to get him down.
Victoria firefighters responded to a call via B.C. Ambulance of a man in distress in the tower of the Gothic-style Anglican church at 5:50 p.m. Tuesday, said acting battalion chief Peter Stephenson.
The call for help came from a bell-ringer in training who was on the bell ringing platform at the top of the tower with the victim.
Paramedics were able to treat the man who had gone into cardiac arrest and bring his heart to a “normal rhythm,” Stephenson said.
The job was far from over, however, as firefighters then needed to transport the man down a narrow internal spiral staircase about four storeys high, Stephenson said.
Using a supple plastic “sked” stretcher, firefighters strapped the man in and transported him down the stairwell using well-practised high-angle technical skills and confined space skills, Stephenson said.
“We train a lot for these scenarios,” Stephenson said. “There was a lot of rope skill involved. It was a winding staircase in a very very small area. Firefighters were bumping off the sides and bumping their heads.”
The middle-age man who teaches bell ringing was transported to hospital in stable condition, Stephenson said.
Christ Church Cathedral is one of Canada’s largest cathedrals with towers rising 37 metres above street level, according to the church.
The current cathedral on Quadra Street near Victoria law courts is the third incarnation. The first church, built in 1856, was destroyed by fire and the second, built in 1872, became too small for the congregation.
The first part of the church was completed in 1929 and a final reconstruction of the east end of the church was completed and consecrated in 1991, according to the church’s website.
The bell tower was completed in 1957 with two more bells added in 1983. The iconic bells are rung for Sunday services, and during funerals, sometimes weddings, and weekly rehearsals.
