Nearly seven months after three-year-old Kaden Young was swept from his mother’s arms when their van was pulled into the Grand River in Amaranth Township, new measures are being taken to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again.
Four-hundred metres of guide rail has now been installed on the 10th Line along the river after the community, haunted by the boy’s death, pulled together to ensure it would not be in vain.
Reminders of the little life lost still hang over the river, where witnesses say the water flooded the road, reaching as high as mailboxes.
Grand Valley Fire Chief Kevin McNeilly said more needs to be done to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again.
McNeilly says that on the night Kaden was lost his crew had to call for rescue help from Centre Wellington 40 minutes away.
“We do respond to some of these types of calls, and we should be equipped and prepared to do it,” he said.
The fire chief wants his crew to receive specialized equipment and on-going training necessary to save lives under these dangerous conditions.
McNeilly believes if the firefighters who responded that night had the swift water rescue training it could have changed the events that unraveled that night.
“To be self-sufficient, have the resources, have the proper training, and my guys are safe and qualified to do the job… yah it definitely would have been a different outcome.”
