A Forest Lake Fire Department Air boat filled with water and crashed into a fence after its crew attempted to rescue an intoxicated man trapped in a flooded creek near downtown Owatonna Sept. 24.
Forest Lake Fire Chief Gary Sigfrinius said one firefighter was injured during the incident. The boat suffered hull damage and some rescue equipment was lost in the rushing water.
The Forest Lake Fire Department Air boat was being used Sept. 23-24 to respond to flood related calls in the city of Owatonna and Steele County under a Statewide Mutual Aid Plan.
According to reports, the air boat was called to rescue a Owatonna man, 41, who was stranded in a vehicle in a flooded creek around 6 a.m. Sept. 24. The motorist had apparently driven around barricades and into rushing water, where he became trapped near a power substation.
Reports said the man was standing on the roof of his vehicle in fast moving water. Overhead power lines prevented a helicopter rescue.
Sigfrinius said as the Air boat approached the submerged vehicle, the Owatonna man ignored commands to remain in place and jumped toward the boat. The man landed mostly in the water.
Forest Lake firefighter Joe Strunk grabbed the victim and held him in the water but the boat became flooded as it was forced to turn in the heavy current. The boat slammed into a chain-link fence surrounding the power station and the three man crew along with the victim made it to shore using ropes and the fencing.
Sigfrinius said Strunk was hospitalized with a strained back and shoulder. The Owatonna man was also hospitalized with severe hypothermia.
The Steele County Sheriff’s Office later arrested the Owatonna man for driving under the influence.
“We left the boat in the water for two days because it was too dangerous to get a tow line to it,” said Sigfrinius, in a press release Sept. 27.
The boat was retrieved Sept. 25 by Dan’s Towing and is now back at the Forest Lake Fire Department.
Sigfrinius said the department will use insurance money to repair the hull damage and replace lost rescue equipment. The money should be reimbursed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he said.
