911 responders rescue man from channel near Marine Park

A man fell from this spot into the water Tuesday night. A bystander said she heard a big splash. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
A man fell from this spot into the water Tuesday night. A bystander said she heard a big splash. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)

First responders rescued a man from the water after he fell from the dock near Marine Park on Tuesday night.

Bystander Cate Ross and a friend were sitting on the deck outside The Hangar on the Wharf when she heard a splash.

“So we ran out from the Hangar and looked down in the water and yelled down to see if we could hear anybody and somebody kind of grunted back at us and we shined lights down and we saw somebody hanging on to one of the pilings,” Ross said.

Ross called 911 and talked to the man as they waited for help to arrive. Ross said she had walked by him on the way to the Hangar and it seemed like he was sleeping.

Noah Jenkins was captain on duty with Capital City Fire/Rescue when the emergency call came in around 7:30 p.m.

Capital City Fire/Rescue also searched the shoreline for a second person. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
Capital City Fire/Rescue also searched the shoreline for a second person. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)

“We arrived on scene, got directed by bystanders where the patient was, went down the ramp to the lightering dock and found the patient. The bystander was up above and pointed to us where the patient was. I was able to swim over there with a rope attached and my driver, Brady Fink, then pulled us both back once I got to him,” Jenkins said.

He said the rescue took minutes. Another CCFR staffer says the rescued man was hypothermic and responsive.

Jenkins was shivering Tuesday night after the rescue.

“It’s pretty chilly. The dry suit has a zipper to be able to relieve yourself and that zipper was open I failed to notice, so it wasn’t a very dry dry suit,” Jenkins said.

The rescued man was transported to Bartlett Regional Hospital. His name was not released Tuesday night. Jenkins said he expects him to recover.

First responders searched the shoreline for a possible second person, but didn’t find anyone.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications