New York firefighters are used to dealing with intense situations and a wide variety of calls. However, this particular call, received in Brooklyn, shook the First Responders to their core.

Playground Mishap

According to NBC4, a group of children were playing at the Rudd Playground when an 11-year-old boy fell through an emergency subway grate. It was a little after 5:00pm and the grate led to a section of the Bushwick Ave.- Aberdeen St. L train track.

Before he fell, the boy was playing inside an area normally fenced off with basketball courts on either side and surrounded by subway grates.

According to another 11-year-old who was playing with him, “He was sitting on the edge, swinging his legs, and he just slipped off."

The boy slipped down the chute and landed just above a section of the tracks.

“One of his cousins was yelling, ‘Help! Help!’ He fell down to the subway. They opened the gate, and they pulled him up. He was bleeding from the head, and he was crying.”

Witness Account

A Daring Rescue

Thankfully the grates have a landing area, so you cannot fall straight down onto the track below. According to a transit employee, that's exactly where the boy fell.

Authorities are not exactly sure how the incident happened. However, they noted that normally the area is blocked off by a fence.

Parks Department officials believe vandals had cut the fence away from the post and pulled it back and then pulled away the grate.

“Our thoughts are with the child and his family. We have dispatched a team to investigate what occurred and ensure the site is safe and secure. The safety of New Yorkers is always our top priority.”

MTA Spokesman Andrei Berman

Brought to Safety

Thankfully, the boy was not seriously injured. According to officers, firefighters got him out of the grate, and medics brought him over to Kings County Hospital.

The safety grate broke his fall and prevented the boy from further injury. The firefighters quick thinking and hard work brought him out safe and sound.