Heads-Up Rescue Frees Trapped Girl

It was the combination of Taylor Daniels’ thin neck and the fact that the wrought-iron fence that had entrapped her head was wider at the top that bought the 7-year-old girl her quick freedom.

Those are the two reasons given by Ventura City Fire Capt. Mike Vaughan to explain why his team from Engine No. 1 did not have to resort to using the pry bars in what he called an easy rescue on Sunday morning.

The Ventura girl and her mother, Cheryl, were at the Amtrak train station near the Ventura County Fairgrounds about 10:30 a.m. dropping off a passenger, according to the Fire Department.

At some point, Taylor managed to poke her head through the fence and became stuck.

But before Firefighter Dave Bayer pulled out his lifesaving equipment, he tested the spacing of the bars. He noticed they were unevenly spaced, with more wiggle room near the top.

Placing his hands on Taylor’s head, Bayer asked her to slide up a bit, allowing him to remove the little girl without a hitch--or a scratch.

“It took about two minutes,” Vaughan said.

The simplicity of the rescue was relatively uncommon, said Vaughan.

“Most of the time, it’s more dramatic,” he said. “Like someone’s fingers will be stuck in a machine. . . . There was no trauma in this. . . . It was a nice call.”