Man Rescued While Having Heart Attack On Lake Michigan: Lake Forest Fire Department

LAKE FOREST, IL — Lake Forest firefighters participated in the rescue of a man who had a medical emergency while aboard a boat in Lake Michigan Wednesday.

At 11:38 a.m., the Lake Forest Fire Department was called to the boat launch to help the U.S. Coast Guard save a 77-year old man as he suffered from a cardiac emergency on a 47-foot private fishing vessel, Battalion Chief Eric Globerger said.

With three paramedics aboard, firefighters launched its 14-foot inflatable boat into six-foot seas in order to offer advanced life support to the man, a Waukegan resident, according to the fire department.

A second inflatable boat, provided by the Lake Forest Sailing Club, was soon launched. It was occupied by fire department staff to provide support and assist with the rescue, according to a news release.

Emergency personnel transferred the man into the Coast Guard's response boat, where he went into sudden cardiac arrest, the fire department said.

Rescuers began conducting CPR and brought the patient to a waiting ambulance that took him to Lake Forest Hospital, according to the release.

He was admitted to the intensive care unit and remained in critical condition Wednesday night, Globerger said.

There was one minor injury to a firefighter in the course of the rescue, the fire department said.