CANMORE – The Sunday of the August long weekend turned into a more eventful day than Steve Westlake had bargained for, after a peaceful river ride with his family ended up with a river rescue with strangers.
Launching with friends and family on a private raft on the Bow River on Aug. 2, Canmore Fire-Rescue firefighter Westlake, who was off-duty that day, said he noticed a family alongside the shore inflating a boat.
"One family was inflating at the same time we were and it looked like they were out of their range of knowledge," Westlake said in an interview with the Outlook.
"[Along the river] we pulled over for a stop and they passed us, then we got back in the river and then they went sideways through a fallen tree."
⚠️PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT⚠️
— Canmore Fire Rescue (@CanmoreFireRes) August 11, 2020
There has been a marked increase in water related incidents on local rivers & lakes. Our rivers are primarily glacial runoff & VERY, VERY ❄️COLD❄️. Even a fit, healthy swimmer can get into difficulties very quickly. pic.twitter.com/aQImOT0Ghd
Westlake said the scene happened fast, as a man in the other boat fell out into the water. Stuck in the water being pulled with the current, the man and the family in the boat hit another tree and ended up getting caught up in a third fallen tree in the river.
"The man was pinned between the tree and the raft, unable to rescue himself and the people in the craft could also not do a rescue," Westlake said.
With 12 years with the fire department and an additional 15 years as a whitewater raft guide, Westlake said he assessed the situation. Taking into account that a longtime friend and advanced care paramedic Dave Cipollone was also on the river, Westlake decided to help the struggling family.
"I maneuvered my boat to where they were, got the members in the boat to calm down and stop screaming – the boat was about half the air pressure it should have been," Westlake said.
As the family began to calm down, the firefighter quickly jumped into the half-inflated raft, pulled up the man who had fallen out back into the inflatable and jumped back into his boat before getting both boats to shore.
"The fact [the man] had a properly fitting lifejacket made a difference. If he didn't have a PFD that fit, it could've been a bad situation," he said.
Coordinating with Canmore Fire-Rescue and Kananaskis Public Safety, an emergency evacuation ride was arranged and the off-duty firefighter was able to continue his Sunday river ride.
The firefighter compared the incident to an accountant doing taxes.
"I've been doing this a long time and, as I just told my [Fire] Chief, don't use words like hero – it's just what I've done all my life," Westlake said.
"It's not a hero thing, they are just lucky they had someone who knew what to do right behind them."
A longtime resident of the mountains, Westlake said he's seen a lot of river rescues over the years and wanted to remind everyone to be cautious and prepared.
"Just be prepared, have basic navigation skills – rivers are different from still waters," he said, noting all water in Alberta is considered cold water.
"People cannot be immersed for long without losing the ability to help one's self."
Canmore Fire-Rescue Fire Chief Walter Gahler noted there has been an uptick in river rescues this year, including a call earlier this week.
On Monday (Aug. 10), Canmore Fire-Rescue responded to a water rescue near the Canmore Engine Bridge after two men visiting from Toronto had jumped off.
"The two men were hiking during the day when they decided to jump off the Engine Bridge," Gahler said.
One of the men had inhaled water and did not do well with the cold water, the Fire Chief explained. The other friend had noticed and pulled his struggling friend to the rocks under the bridge when they called 911.
"We put a crew on the bridge right away and put a jet boat upstream," Gahler said, nothing they assisted on getting the men back to shore before handing him off to EMS.
"It was not a serious injury but the real concern was he might have been one breath away or one more swallow of water of not being about to control himself."
Last year, Canmore council passed a bylaw prohibiting anyone from jumping from the Engine Bridge. Anyone caught jumping or rappelling from Town-owned infrastructure could face a $500 fine.
