A slew of emergency responders descended on Thetis Lake Park for a reported rescue operation Friday, but instead found a 15-year-old male on a hill who was too drunk to walk.
“Apparently he’s so drunk he can’t even function,” said View Royal fire Chief Paul Hurst. “He is not injured. He is just intoxicated.”
The teen was put in a “mule,” a stretcher with a large rubber tire in the centre making it easier for responders to evacuate people from difficult terrain.
View Royal Fire Rescue, B.C. Ambulance, West Shore RCMP and CRD bylaw officers attended the 2:30 p.m. call to the popular regional park. “This is waste of resources,” Hurst said. “Our whole department is over here dealing with the issue.”
If there had been another emergency in View Royal, the call would have been diverted to Colwood Fire Rescue.
The teen was transported to hospital. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he appeared unconscious as firefighters wheeled him out of the forest.
Four of his friends had not been drinking and Hurst said they were co-operating and helpful.
On young man who admitted to drinking with the teen said they had been consuming Jack Daniel's and beer. “I hope my friend doesn’t die, that would suck,” he said. “But he’s tough so I know he won’t die.”
It was a rough start to the Labour Day weekend, but being drunk at the lake could have had worse outcomes, Hurst said. “(What if) he’s that hammered and walked off a cliff?”
reporter@goldstreamgazette.com