Off-duty firefighters save life of man who fell off kayak in Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 22-year-old South Lake Tahoe man is alive today thanks to efforts of rescuers who were on the beach of Tahoe Beach Retreat on Thursday, May 10, when he went underwater after being on a kayak.

At 2:46 p.m., a call was made to 911 about a drowning man in the lake. When the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department arrived three minutes later, two off-duty firemen were on the scene already, along with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department.

Life saving measures were being taken by the two off-duty firefighters, one from El Segundo, Calif., and the other from the Woodbridge Fire Dept in Lodi, Calif. One of the firefighters had pulled the victim to shore and found no pulse. The two started CPR.

Witnesses say the man was underwater for two minutes.

When SLTFR arrived they found the man in cardiac arrest. The unidentified man was transported to Barton Memorial Hospital with firefighters on board. A Endotracheal tube was placed during the ride, using visualization of cords.

According to SLTFR, the patient survived.

The outside temperature was 68 degrees at the time and the victim was wearing just shorts. Lake Tahoe is cold, and cold water shock is a concern when recreating on the lake. The most common misunderstanding about swimming in Lake Tahoe is that people can suffer from hypothermia, which leads to death. The real truth is that "cold water shock" will kill much quicker than hypothermia ever will.

The wearing of a flotation device will keep a head above water during the first stage of cold water immersion. An initial deep and sudden Gasp followed by hyperventilation that can be as much as 600-1000% greater than normal breathing.

For more on Cold Water Shock: http://southtahoenow.com/story/07/07/2016/importance-understanding-dangers-cold-water-shock and http://southtahoenow.com/story/07/05/2017/importance-understanding-dangers-cold-water-shock