Terri Pederson
Beaver Dam Fire Department personnel pull the boat to shore that capsized on Beaver Dam Lake on Wednesday. The lone occupant in the boat, a 36-year-old man, was transported to Beaver Dam Community Hospital. From left, are John Jahnke, Eric Waugus, Lee Smith and John Hendrickson.
The Beaver Dam Fire Department rescued a 36-year-old Iron Ridge man whose boat capsized on Beaver Dam Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
Police got a call around 2 p.m. from an employee of Beaver Dam’s Parks and Forestry Department reporting that a boat had capsized near Waterworks Park.
“The boat was taking on water, just inching up,” said Jim Piry, who also witnessed the boat capsizing.
Beaver Dam Fire Department Capt. Paul Hartl launched the department’s personal watercraft from Waterworks Park to get the man out of the water.
It is the first time that the department used the watercraft that was donated by Yamaha as part of the Law Loan Program.
The watercraft can be quickly put in the water and operated by one person, Hartl said. Unlike the boat that needs more than one person to operate and takes a longer time to get into position.
“He said he was pretty tired,” Hartl said. “The boat was taking on water and it ended up going down.”
The man was not wearing a life jacket when he was rescued and was swimming back to shore.
“He appeared to be in good health,” Beaver Dam Fire Chief Alan Mannel said. “We treated him for hypothermia and transferred him to Beaver Dam Community Hospital.”
Other firefighters took the fire department boat out and retrieved the fisherman’s boat. Firefighters pulled the boat from eight feet of water half way between Waterworks and Edgewater.
Beaver Dam Fire and EMS, Beaver Dam Police Department, Beaver Dam Department of Public Works, Dodge County Sheriff’s Department and the Wisconsin DNR responded to the scene.
tpederson@capitalnewspapers.com