Human Interest

Circus Performer Rescued While Dangling from Bridge During a Photo Shoot

"I think she was a little confused that we were all there. And she said she does this all the time, but we were there to help her out," said Rochester Firefighter Joseph Lee

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Published on April 20, 2022 07:24 PM

Circus performer rescued in during photo shoot on bridge — Photo: rochester fire dept

A circus performer was rescued while hanging from a bridge during a photoshoot in Rochester, New York on Friday.

The Rochester Fire Department was called after an onlooker spotted trapeze artist Julia Baccellieri dangling from the bridge while being photographed.

"We just finished the photoshoot. Avi and I gave thumbs up and I was like, 'all right I'm gonna come up and come down.' And then we had the rescue and the police all show up." Baccellieri told WHAM. "We heard sirens and Avi was like 'Okay, I'm going to head to shore and I'm going to check out what's going on over there.'"

Baccellieri said she never felt in danger during the incident.

"I was communicating with some of the rescue people on top and they were like, 'Are you ok to get up? Do you know how to get up? Are you stuck?'" she explained. "And I was like, 'I'm not stuck at all. I feel totally safe and calm right now. I'm ready to get myself up.'"

Rochester Firefighter Joseph Lee told WHAM that Baccellieri seemed "a little confused" when the rescuers arrived.

"She said she does this all the time, but we were there to help her out," Lee said.

Firefighters set up a rope system to rappel down to Baccellieri and launched a water rescue unit, according to a Facebook post from the Rochester Fire Department.

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"The firefighter attached a rescue harness to the victim and crews on the bridge deck above brought them both back up to safety," the post stated.

"Being over the water is always something unique so we had the rope rescue aspect on the deck of the bridge," Battalion Chief Mark Alberts told WHAM. "Then we had our water rescue team boat underneath just in case anybody got into the water."

The rescue operation took about 40 minutes to complete, and no injuries were reported, according to the post.

"We were just trying to stay super calm and get all of our equipment out. Figure out what needs to be done," Lee told WHAM. "Everybody got right to work. Super well-oiled machine and we got the job done."