Off-duty firefighter helps rescue skier injured in Utah avalanche: 'Right place, right time'
An off-duty Utah firefighter came to the rescue of a skier who got injured in an avalanche on Wednesday while they waited several hours to get off the mountain. An off-duty Utah firefighter said he was in the right place at the right time when he came upon a skier half-buried in an avalanche this week, aiding in a rescue mission that took nearly eight hours. Tom Elbrecht, a firefighter with the Unified Fire Authority, was skiing with his dog on Wednesday morning in Neffs Canyon in Salt Lake City when he heard a person yelling for help. "I heard a very distinct 'help' from somewhere up on the hill, shouted back, got a response from the victim," Elbrecht told reporters Thursday. Tom Elbrecht, an off-duty firefighter who was skiing with his dog when he came upon a skier trapped in an avalanche, talks to reporters on Dec. 15, 2022. KTVX The skier -- a 35-year-old man -- had gotten caught in an avalanche estimated to be about 200 feet wide and up to three feet deep at ...