Rescue operation successful
TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – A kayaker was rescued by firefighters when her craft became pinned against a tree near the center of Wappinger Creek near Stanley Still Sports Park off Jackson Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie.
Minutes before 4 p.m. on Saturday firefighters from Arlington and LaGrange and EMS personnel from Mobile Life Support Services responded and found that a woman in a kayak that was pinned against a tree near the center of the creek.
A second kayak was spotted capsized in the water and that boater was able to swim to shore prior to the arrival of first responders.
Due to the swift moving water and location of the kayaks, emergency responders equipped with water rescue gear had to deploy a rope system across the creek and use an inflatable rescue boat to extricate and safely bring the victim back to shore. The rescue operation was completed in less than an hour from the initial dispatch and there were no reported civilian or emergency responder injuries.
Both kayaks were also recovered.
Both kayakers said they were from Nyack was their first time on the Wappingers Creek in that area.
The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office also assisted with the incident.
One day before, on April 7, personnel from the Arlington and LaGrange fire departments had taken part in joint swift water rescue training exercises on another section of the Wappinger Creek.
Arlington, LaGrange and City of Poughkeepsie fire departments have personnel that, as part of a joint special operations team, are specially trained and equipped to respond to those types of incidents.
