High Ridge Fire Protection District firefighters responded to a call about a near drowning in the Big River at Rockford Beach in House Springs on Sunday afternoon (July 19), High Ridge Fire Engineer John Barton said.
He said crews were dispatched to the Rockford Beach Park at 3:27 p.m., and when crews arrived at 3:30 p.m., the three people who got caught in the current had already gotten out of the river.
Barton said two of the people did not feel they were in danger of drowning after going over the rapids, but the third person, a teenager, was in “distress.”
The teen was transported by Big River Ambulance to an area hospital.
Barton said he did not know the ages or towns for the three people.
He said crews left the area at 3:43 p.m.
The incident marked the fifth water rescue call High Ridge Fire has responded to this season at Rockford Beach.
Barton said he is worried more calls will be dispatched this summer because some public pools are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said when he arrived on the scene on Sunday, the area was the busiest he had ever seen, despite officials warning people not to swim at the beach, and that worries him.
“The activity doesn’t seem to have slowed down at all,” he said.
The Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Department has posted warnings at the park and on its website about the dangers of swimming there.
The district had one water rescue in 2018 and three in 2019, Barton said.
At least two people have drowned in recent years while swimming at the beach.