Nighttime technical rescue of teen from South Surrey's 1001 Steps prompts safety message

Firefighters and locals are preaching safety after a teenaged boy had to be lifted to safety from a popular beach overnight Friday in South Surrey.

The victim fell while going down steep terrain near the 1001 steps at Crescent Beach in darkness, despite the site being closed off to the public for the day.

"A lot of kids go down there, during the day it's a beautiful area, when it gets dark it's rough terrain, it's quite dangerous," said Surrey Battalion Chief Dave Wyatt.

The area, which has a long wooden staircase down to the beach over train tracks, is close to where a teen died after being struck by an Amtrak train early in July.

Steep cliffs

Wyatt said the victim from Friday night's rescue most likely suffered a severely broken leg from a fall. He said he was with a friend who went for help.

Around 17 firefighters worked to safely bring the victim out — some had to dangle from lines from the steep cliffs the area is known for. 

The City of Surrey has installed a gate and fence at the site to keep people away once the sun goes down.

"There's a reason that gates are closed and access to the beach has certain hours," said Wyatt. "They're not doing it because they want to restrict people to not see these things, it's because of safety."

Wyatt says the call for the rescue came in around 11:30 p.m. PT Friday and that the two friends weren't drinking.

Local Ryan Klinger says many of the youth that congregate in the area after-hours do bring liquor.

"I've seen it all there," he said.

He along with other residents like Tanya Colledge want security improved.

"Maybe put some cameras or a security guard," she said.

"It's unlikely, given the stairs here, that people are going to necessarily make the extra effort to come up and down those stairs if they know there's going to be someone on the other end patrolling the area," added Klinger.

With files from Zahra Premji and Cory Correia.