A city firefighter assists a man by piggyback after two motorists were stranded on Lansdowne Street east of The Parkway caused by flash flooding after thunderstorms that rolled through the Peterborough area on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Peterborough, Ont.
CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT / EXAMINER
A driver waits for help inside his swamped car on Lansdowne Street east of The Parkway caused by flash flooding after thunderstorms that rolled through the Peterborough area on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Peterborough, Ont.
CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT / EXAMINER
A city firefighter assists a man by piggyback after two motorists were stranded on Lansdowne Street east of The Parkway caused by flash flooding after thunderstorms that rolled through the Peterborough area on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Peterborough, Ont.
CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT / EXAMINER
City firefighters assist a driver on Lansdowne Street east of The Parkway caused by flash flooding after thunderstorms that rolled through the Peterborough area on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Peterborough, Ont.
Peterborough firefighters sprang to the rescue when Lexus was swamped by water on Lansdowne St.
A group of young men were escorted to safety by firefighters — with at least one carried piggyback through deep flood waters — after their car became swamped in a flood Thursday night along Lansdowne Street just east of The Parkway.
A city firefighter assists a man by piggyback after two motorists were stranded on Lansdowne Street east of The Parkway caused by flash flooding after thunderstorms that rolled through the Peterborough area on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Peterborough, Ont.
CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT / EXAMINER
A city firefighter assists a man by piggyback after two motorists were stranded on Lansdowne Street east of The Parkway caused by flash flooding after thunderstorms that rolled through the Peterborough area on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Peterborough, Ont.
CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT / EXAMINER
A driver waits for help inside his swamped car on Lansdowne Street east of The Parkway caused by flash flooding after thunderstorms that rolled through the Peterborough area on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Peterborough, Ont.
CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT / EXAMINER
A city firefighter assists a man by piggyback after two motorists were stranded on Lansdowne Street east of The Parkway caused by flash flooding after thunderstorms that rolled through the Peterborough area on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Peterborough, Ont.
CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT / EXAMINER
City firefighters assist a driver on Lansdowne Street east of The Parkway caused by flash flooding after thunderstorms that rolled through the Peterborough area on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Peterborough, Ont.
A group of young men were escorted to safety by firefighters — with at least one carried piggyback through deep flood waters — after their car became swamped in a flood Thursday night along Lansdowne Street just east of The Parkway.
At the scene on Thursday night, the rescued men declined to be interviewed, though one man - who didn’t give his name —said he was brought to safety only to wonder when the two truck was coming and how he’d safely leave the scene.
“The police can do nothing,” said the man. “Just take the driver out, and the passengers out — and they leave them there and do nothing (further).”
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
On Friday Peterborough Fire Chief Chris Snetsinger said in an email that firefighters are specially trained to do these sort of rescues.
He said he couldn’t comment on “the specific circumstances of this rescue.”
“However flood waters are dangerous and can hide various hazards,” he said in his email. “Firefighters are certified in swift water rescue and train regularly.”
Snetsinger didn’t name the firefighters who did the piggyback rescues, but praised all crew members who responded to calls for help in the storm.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Peterborough Police closed Lansdowne Street between The Parkway and Goodfellow Road. Police cruisers were parked there keeping the road blocked, during the flooding.
An officer was directing traffic at Goodfellow Road. Traffic was also blocked along The Parkway leading up to the intersection.
Many businesses in the area remained open, though they were inaccessible by car: A&W, for instance, which has a 24-hour drive-thru.
Several people scrambled along Lansdowne Street sidewalks to try to get home, wondering whether Peterborough Transit was running.
Route 7 and other Peterborough Transit routes along Lansdowne were indeed halted, starting at about 7 p.m., leaving some citizen to find other transportation home.
City police encouraged citizens on Thursday night to “stay off the streets at this time to avoid any more motorists being stranded on city streets” after at least 23 millimetres of rain fell over a five-hour period.
But some couldn’t resist checking out the closed portion of Lansdowne Street, particularly at the deeply flooded Walmart parking lot at the Parkway Centre plaza where several cars were swamped.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Some portions of Lansdowne Street were clear of flood water, and others not so much.
For example the parking lot outside SportChek at Lansdowne Place mall held quite a lot of water, and just after the mall closed at least one pickup truck was zooming around in circles, kicking up water.
The City of Peterborough reported localized flooding in areas throughout the city, and asked motorists to avoid Lansdowne and The Parkway particularly while crews responded to clear away the water.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation