ECONOMY, N.S. —
Chief Geoff MacLaughlin of the Economy Fire Department is advising visitors to the Economy Falls to be more careful after two wom3n and their dog ran into difficulty while hiking there Wednesday afternoon.
“That’s what you get when you don’t pay attention,” he said, after the women made their way back out on their own following a call for assistance.
MacLaughlin, who was not on hand when the women came out, said he was relying on second-hand information from other department members. But he said the two women and, what he believes was a golden retriever called for assistance after the dog fell over an embankment and the women temporarily got stranded when they went down to get it. Fire fighters coming to their aid met them part way along the trail.
“No one knows them,” he said, of the likelihood that the women were not from the area. “They got themselves out and they are fine.”
But MacLaughlin expressed frustration that about eight of his volunteer members, the Colchester District RCMP and EHS officials were called out because of what he believed to be simple carelessness on the part of the hikers.
“I think everyone is more annoyed than anything,” he said. “That’s what you get when you don’t put your dog on a leash.”
He said there are also signs along the trail warning people to stay back from the edge but that message appears not to have been heeded.
“Be mindful of where you are at,” he said, as a warning to other hikers.
