Firefighters bring person ashore stranded on Oak Orchard Creek in Medina

Press Release, Medina Fire Department

Photo courtesy of Medina Fire Department: Medina firefighters helped bring a male ashore who was stranded on a small island on the Oak Orchard Creek this morning.

MEDINA – Today at 9:46 a.m., the Village of Medina Fire Department was dispatched to Butts Park for a male stranded on a small island in the middle of Oak Orchard Creek.

Medina Police arrived on scene prior to the Fire Department and they kept the male calm. Medina Engine 11 and a Medina ambulance arrived on scene within three minutes with rescuers already suited up in surface ice/cold water rescue suits.

Due to extremely cold temperatures and a fast current, the Shelby and Ridgeway Fire Departments were dispatched to the scene for manpower and cold water rescue gear.

Under the command of Medina Fire Chief Matt Jackson, following all safety precautions, including safety lines, two rescuers entered the water. Upon reaching the island, a rescue ring was firmly secured around the patient’s chest.

After a few minutes of calming and reassuring the patient, the rescuers and patient were pulled safely to shore 25 minutes after the time of dispatch. Subsequently, the patient was transported to a hospital to be treated for probable hypothermia.

Thanks to our dispatchers, Medina Police, and the Shelby and Ridgeway Fire Departments for all their assistance this morning.

This emergency reminds us that frigid water is unsafe water. A person falling into frigid water can be quickly incapacitated by the effects of hypothermia and drown.