Wrentham Fire and Norfolk Country Rescue Crews Save Two Trapped Climbers on Joe's Rock

Update (9:25 p.m.) - While accidents and injuries are nothing new to Joe’s Rock in West Wrentham, Wednesday evening’s rescue of two teenage boys who climbed about 40-50 feet up the face of the rock created one of the more notable incidents in the conservation area.

“We have been here before for slips and falls. This is one of the most dramatic ones we’ve had here,” Wrentham Fire Chief Jay McMorrow said.

The climbers, from Attleboro and Wrentham, have not had their names released to the public yet.

At about 5:20, Wrentham Fire responded to an emergency call from one of the climbers on their cell phones asking for help. According to Wrentham Fire Chief Jay McMorrow, the two men came to the conservation area after one of them visited the area yesterday. While walking around, the two decided to climb up Joe's rock, but quickly ran out of space while free climbing up the rock.

Free climbing involved scaling large structures without the aid of rope or climbing equipment.

“One of them was there yesterday and thought it would be a good trip. Decided to climb, got to a point where they could not go up or down,” McMorrow explained.

When McMorrow arrived on the scene, he called for the Norfolk County Technical Rescue Team that specializes in rope, confined spaces, and trench.

By the time the rescue team arrived to the scene, one of the climbers was able to find a niche to sit in while the other had one foot on a tree branch, both hands on a crevice, and told rescue official that he could not hang on for much longer.

According to Avon Fire Police Chief Robert Spurr, the rescue team placed one group at the base of the rock and another at the top to so they could be lowered down to save the climbers.

With a ladder leaning against the rock and attached to the base of a tree for stability, the climber in the niche was able to get down on the ladder with the help of a firefighter while another member of the team had to be lowered down from the top of the rock to rescue and bring down the other climber clinging on to the crevasse.

According to McMorrow, both climbers did not suffer major injuries while scaling the rock or during the rescue.

After the rescue, one of the climbers was released while the other was transported to Norwood Hospital.

Update (6:37 p.m.) - Two victims have reportedly been secured after becoming trapped at Joe's Rock Park in Wrentham, according to unconfirmed reports. 

The two individuals reportedly became trapped on a rock 40-feet high at the Wrentham conservation area. Wrentham fire crews responded to the scene Wednesday evening, and the victims have been reportedly transported off the ledge to safety and are being moved to ambulances, according to reports. Both are reportedly unharmed.

Original Story:

Rescue crews from the Wrentham Fire Department have been requested to assist in rescuing two people who are allegedly trapped on a rock 40 feet high at Joe's Rock Park in Wrentham, according to reports confirmed by WHDH.

Wrentham Patch will provide more information as it becomes available.