Naperville Fire Chief: Stay Off the River

It was an unprecedented number of rescues last week when the Naperville Fire Department had to assist several people off the DuPage River. Naperville Fire Chief Mark Puknaitis has just one piece of advice for those considering going in.

“Just stay off it completely.”

Warnings were given after each incident on the river, but despite that, people continued to go in.

“Water draws people’s attention,” Puknaitis said. “I’ve talked to friends and neighbors and some of them will say ‘I’d never go on that river,’ other people will say ‘I don’t see what the big deal is’ because they look at the water as a friendly place and they don’t understand the dangers.”

Puknaitis said lack of information is one of the key factors in why people continue to go out on the river. While it may not appear to be dangerous due to it not being very deep, there are tree limbs and rocks that could put kayakers and others in a dangerous situation.

“It’s a lack of understanding. People just think it’s fun,” Puknaitis said. “They don’t see the dangers and they may not think (the river) is traveling that fast, but once you get in, especially certain corners and areas, it really starts flowing rapidly.”

Despite these warnings, people needing rescue from the river is something that happens every summer, whether they capsize their vessel or are caught on a tree stump, according to Puknaitis.

With all the warnings given out about the river, Puknaitis said there are no repercussions or fines people might face for going out on the river and needing rescue, due to the fact that it’s governed by the Department of Natural Resources.

“That’s why we can’t impose a fine. It’s not illegal to go out on the river,” Puknaitis said. “It’s not illegal to swim in it or kayak on it. If it was private property, certainly. If it was city owned, there’d be things we could do.”

If four or five more inches of rain falls Puknaitis said it’s a near certainty more people will go out on the river.

“There’s 150,000 people in town. Even if you get a message to everybody, not everybody is going to adhere to it,” he said. “That’s why we have the rescue teams that we do. It’s just like drunk driving. You know people will drive drunk. It’s gonna happen. You try to minimize that and you try to get the message out as much as possible.”

What escalates this situation is high winds and rain, which people see as an adventure.

“It’s not. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

If you’re interested in going kayaking or just on the water, Puknaitis said there are other places that are safer than the DuPage River.

“You can go on a rafting trip that’s a lot safer than this because you’re going to have a guide in the area and they’re going to tell you where to go and where not to go and you’re going to be somewhat monitored.”

The DuPage River winds back and forth and there are areas that are not visible from the open road.

“If you get stranded in those areas, you can yell and scream and maybe people will hear you, but maybe they won’t. If you get trapped or, God forbid, you drowned, nobody is going to come to your rescue right away because no one will know anything happened,” Puknaitis said.

Puknaitis wants people to know that no one is immune to danger on the river, no matter how experienced they are. He also suggests that people always wear a life jacket, regardless of the depth of the body of water.

“Young or old, big or small, a river is not for anyone. It’s nice to look at and it’s nice to walk around, but the DuPage River is not something that is designed to take a casual cruise in.”