The Duluth Fire Department rescued a 20-year-old local woman from Lake Superior after she was pulled away from the shore by dangerous rip currents off Park Point on Saturday.
Several people were swimming with the woman, but all were able to return to shore. Mayo Ambulance treated the woman at the scene before transporting her to a local hospital for exhaustion, according to the city of Duluth.
Assistant Chief Dennis Edwards said it took the fire department five minutes to arrive on scene after the call came in at 4 p.m. The rescue took place near 28th Street and Minnesota Avenue.
"I think she was able to get out of the rip current because when the call first came in it was reported she was 200 to 300 yards off shore but when we got there she was more like 75 yards off shore, but she was struggling and exhausted," Edwards said. "It was lucky that our Rescue 1 crew and Captain Gucinski and firefighter Sarvi were able to get to her and save her life."
The woman is expected to recover, though if emergency responders hadn't arrived as quickly as they did she might not have been so lucky.
Captain Paul Gucinski and firefighter Dan Sarvi both waded into the lake, never leaving the ground, to rescue the woman. Gucinski said by then the woman was able to touch bottom, but barely able to stand.
"Even though we were able to touch there, it was pretty close," Gucinski said.
Red flags were flying on Park Point at the time the water emergency occurred. Red flags indicate a high risk of rip currents and dangerous swimming conditions. The fire department asks that everyone, regardless of their swimming experience, stay out of the water during a rip current warning. The warning is in effect until 10 a.m. Sunday.
"Growing up here myself, those waves look fun and enticing, but it's not the ocean," Edwards said. "The frequency is greater, the rip currents are extremely dangerous and the water temperature is low. It's a very dangerous situation in waves that big."
Park Point has had more red-flag days this summer than years past and as a result the fire department has had more water emergency rescues than normal this summer.
Park Point swimmers can check the status on rip current risk in Lake Superior at parkpointbeach.org. Red flags flying at South Pier, just south of the Life Bridge, 12th Street Beach, Lafayette Park, the Park Point Beach House mean the beach is in a rip current warning.
Those who find themselves caught up in a rip current should swim parallel to the shore to get out of the water, instead of going against the current, Edwards said. Or, if they know help is on the way, people can also tread water to avoid exhaustion until emergency responders arrive.
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