For many of the firefighters who worked for hours to free a teenager from a North Side cave last week, it was the first time they were required to do so, as cave rescues in the San Antonio-area are extremely rare. On March 8, the San Antonio Fire Department’s technical rescue team was called out to the Robber Baron Cave, which stretches for a mile about 30 to 80 feet underground. Inside the cave, an 18-year-old Lee High School student on a field trip found herself trapped in an area called the Hole in the Floor.
“I’ve been here for 13 years and I’ve made two cave rescues” before the March 8 call, San Antonio Fire Department Capt. Brendan Pohlen said. “Most of these guys have been in caves and trained in caves, but for most of them, this is their first cave rescue.”