Creative Plans for Rescuing People From River Offered

Spurred by memories of Adam Paul Bischoff’s futile struggle against the Los Angeles River, about 14 people Wednesday offered a city task force ideas Wednesday for rescuing people from rain-filled storm channels.

The plans--including permanent or emergency nets that could snag victims from rushing currents, and steel frameworks like playground “monkey bars” that swimmers could grab--were suggested at the first public meeting of the Los Angeles River Rescue Task Force.

“I was astonished after the creation of the task force at the number of letters I received . . . ,” Los Angeles Councilwoman Joy Picus told an audience of about 50.

In the wake of the televised drowning of Adam, the City Council set up a five-member task force of representatives of the Los Angeles Fire Department, Police Department and Bureau of Engineering, the County Flood Control District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Adam was swept nearly 10 miles down the concrete-lined river channel, from Woodland Hills to Encino, during a heavy rainstorm on Feb. 12 as would-be rescuers raced from bridge to bridge, futilely throwing him flotation devices and lowering ropes he could not reach.

Letters to the task force included diagrams, sketches and even a photograph of a river in Germany where each bridge abutment contains a closet for flotation devices that can be thrown to people who fall into the water.

Larry Nixon of Woodland Hills, an electronics engineer, sketched a diagram of a rigid chain-link net that could be suspended across the channel. The victim would be forced onto the net no matter how weak he was, Nixon said, and the device would be inexpensive. Mike Richter of North Hollywood brought an example of a net he designed, which he said could be carried in suitcases by emergency personnel and strung across the river.

Paul Herzig of Colton suggested installing concrete or steel islands in the river with toe-holds that victims could climb on. He also suggested ladder-like structures similiar to “the monkey bars you see on school grounds.”

The task force will ask the City Council for funds to build prototypes of the two or three best suggestions.