Sioux Falls Fire Rescue Chief Sideras says the foam that's churned up by the falls is a common problem, but adds this year it's the worst he's ever seen. While it may seem harmless that foam played a big role in Thursday's deadly accident as well as the rescue attempts.
It was clear to everyone watching Thursday's rescue attempt along the falls there was a one major problem.
"We had to remove that foam before we could even get a boat in to the area that they went into." Said Chief Sideras.
Rescue crews used fans and fire hoses for several hours before the foam finally dissipated. That begs the question, what causes this foam to build up?
It's simply a product of the natural runoff from the city's storm drains. Your lawn fertilizer and everything else that goes down these drains will eventually end up in the Big Sioux. Once it goes over the falls the current, mixed with the freezing temperatures, churn up into foam.
That's where things turn into a problem.
Chief Sideras says the average height of this foam on Thursday was about six feet tall. So you can imagine how easily it would be to lose a 6-year old under there. But that was just the average height. The chief says the deepest parts were actually closer to 10 feet! Add another two feet of ice and you can understand why something as simple as foam caused rescuers plenty of problems in their rescue attempts.
