Aug. 13, 2025 2p
From Racine Fire:
On August 13th , 2025@ 8:14 AM the Racine Fire Department was called to the 5th Street boat launch for a report of a person underwater.
Med 1 and Quint 4 arrived within 3 minutes of dispatch time and found a bystander in the water searching for an adolescent who was swimming with a friend. The two adolescents were swimming near the east break wall in the boat launch area. One of the swimmers went underwater and did not return to the surface.
Underwater visibility was very limited, so the divers used search patterns and underwater imaging to find the victim. The victim was found on the lake bottom after an approximately 1 hour search involving multiple agencies, boats, and divers in the water. The victim was transported to Racine Ascension All Saints Hospital emergency room. The victim’s medical status is unknown at the time of this press release.
Crews from Special Teams 1, Engines 1 and 5, Quint 3 who operated Boat 1, Quint 4, Med 1, Med 21, and Med 3 assisted with searching for the victim above and below water, and patient care. Other agencies were called as part of a MABAS dive call. Those agencies available to respond include the following Fire Departments; Town of Burlington, Caledonia, Kansasville, and South Shore. Also on scene were the Racine County Sherrifs’ dive team with dive boat, and Racine Police with their drone team. The Fire Chief, a Battalion Chief, and Safety Officer were also on scene to mitigate the emergency. The Department of Natural Resources and Coast Guard offered their services as well but were not requested to respond.
The Racine Fire Department would like to emphasize that swimming in any body of water can be unpredictable due to many factors. Even strong swimmers can have trouble in the water. Swimming in an area without lifeguards or rescue flotation devices is not recommended.
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