A Pacific-area man in his 20s was rescued from the Big River at Rockford Park in House Springs on Wednesday, May 15. One or two bystanders believed to be fishermen pulled the man out of the water before emergency crews arrived at about 7 p.m., according to High Ridge Fire Protection District Chief John Barton.
“He is very fortunate because if he hadn’t been removed from the water at exactly that time then we would be probably talking about a different story,” Barton said.
Emergency responders with the Big River Ambulance District assessed the man and transported him to a hospital for further treatment. Big River Chief Scott Fisher said the man’s vital signs were stable when his crew arrived, but the man was a little slow with verbal responses.
“We were concerned about secondary drowning, with getting water in his lungs, because after speaking with nearby fishermen, we believe he was under water for about a minute or so,” Fisher said. “If you take in a bunch of water and lay down, you’re basically drowning because the water that you’ve taken in hasn’t been cleared out yet. It happens a lot with kids and it’s a concern with adults also.”
Barton said the man was with a group of people at the park when the incident occurred.
Fisher said the man was not familiar with the area, and the man admitted he didn’t know how to swim.
“If you’re not familiar with the area, it’s not a good place to experiment, so to speak,” Fisher said.
Two people drowned in the Big River near Rockford Park last summer. The Big River has strong, unassuming currents near the Rockford Park access point, Barton said.
He said even with recent heavy rains, the Big River is not much higher than it normally is.
“The river is up a little bit, but to be honest, Rockford Park right now is pretty much how Rockford Park is most of the time,” Barton said. “We’ve talked about this numerous times over the years – this is just a dangerous place to swim. That river takes lives.”
Barton said this is High Ridge Fire’s first water-related emergency at Rockford Park this season. The Eureka Fire Protection District also assisted on the call.
“We don’t really start to see a lot of activity at (Rockford Park) until June or July,” Barton said. “Being only halfway through May and already having one near drowning – that’s concerning to us. We hope it’s not going to set the tone for how things are in the summer months.”
Barton strongly urged people to not swim in the Big River.
“Every person that goes into that water that we’ve rescued and survived has talked about how much they underestimated the current,” he said. “They’re really taking a gamble every time they get into the water.”
There are signs at the park cautioning people that swimming is not recommended.