We hear a lot about ladder accidents, near misses and rescues involving ladders, but there are some truly inspirational stories out there.  Anything with a firefighter in gets our attention because they do such vital work and carry out risky tasks every day in the pursuit of saving lives.  That's why when we heard about Alexis Metko's inspirational story we had to bring it to you. 

Alexis Metko joined the fire service when she was 16 years old, as a volunteer in New Jersey.  After moving to Wisconsin, now aged 32 years old, she needed to attain certification to work in that state, and was training when a near fatal accident happened.   She was carrying an axe down a 35-foot ladder, when she lost her grip on the handle and fell headfirst towards the ground.  Her training supervisor acted incredibly quickly, throwing himself under her to break her fall.  She fractured her skull, wrist and femur and was in hospital for a week.  After a year and a half of intensive physiotherapy to regain function she wanted to return to the service. 

Undeterred by the accident and with almost full fitness regained, Alexis completed her certification test this year, and instead of carrying an axe down the ladder, she was required to carry a 16-foot ladder down.  The person supervising the test was none other than the man who saved her life three years previously, and this gave her the confidence and motivation to successfully complete the training test and qualify as a Wisconsin firefighter.  We're sure she will continue to have a fantastic career ahead of her and she'll save many lives.

Getting back on (and down) a ladder after that kind of experience takes a lot of nerve, something one nonagenarian in Marrowstone Island, Washington, has in abundance.  The man had been walking along the cliff top when he fell, landing in blackberry bushes twenty five feet below.  Now you think that sounds painful and it probably was, however, it was thanks to this shrubbery for breaking his fall that he is still alive today – if he'd fallen a few steps earlier (or later) he would have fallen all the way down to the beach and it would have been a very different outcome.  Save for a few scratches the man was unhurt and lucid when the fire service arrived and they were able to communicate with him and then lower a ladder down.  The 90-year-old climbed up unaided and was treated for minor injuries before being taken to hospital as a precaution – a fall at that age can have serious consequences and it's miraculous that the man not only survived, but was able to play such a pivotal role in his own rescue.

If there's a lesson to be learned here it's that keeping a cool head is essential when working with ladders.  It is all too easy to lose focus and end up falling, and while these two stories have happy endings there are many more that don't.  Pay attention, stay cool and be safe when using ladders, even if you're an experienced ladder user like our firefighter heroine.