A firefighter attempting to carry out a water rescue Monday night in the Cache La Poudre River got into trouble and in turn had to be rescued by colleagues.
The incident happened after 8:15 p.m. in a section of river north of Fort Collins, said Capt. Patrick Love, a Poudre Fire Authority spokesman.
Firefighters and rescue personnel were called to the river on a report of a man who was stuck on an island, and who was “waist deep in water and hanging on to trees,” Love said.
One of the “rescue swimmers” got into trouble during the operation and the force of the river “was pushing his body downstream and his head under water.”
It took 10 firefighters to rescue their colleague and bring him safely back to shore.
The firefighter was treated at the scene and released.
Investigators with Poudre Fire believe the rescue group may have mistakenly been given “erroneous information” and the person who had been in trouble in the river had safely gotten out by the time they arrived.
No one was found in the river and firefighters discontinued their search and operation.
With rivers across the state running high and fast because of spring snow melting rapidly in the mountains, river users need to be extremely cautious, Love said.
Witnesses to accidents are asked to “accurately mark” and keep track of locations and situations, Love said, to be able to give rescue personnel the best information possible.
Love described water rescues, under the best of circumstances, as “complex and extremely dangerous.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
