Man Rescued From Croton River

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY — Emergency responders rescued a man who got stuck in the Croton River Wednesday while trying to rescue his dog. The man was seen at about 6:50 p.m. by a passerby along Route 129, who called 911.

He was standing in the river clinging to a tree branch upstream from the Croton Water Department, Croton fire officials said. They deployed Rescue 18, Tower Ladder 44, Engine 118, Engine 119, and Utility 14. They were joined by two ambulances from Croton On Hudson Emergency Medical Services, paramedics from Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the Water Rescue Team from Yorktown Heights Volunteer FD, Westchester County Police Department and Croton Police.

They first worked on a land-based rescue effort on both sides of the shore. They cut away branches with a chain saw and used a 100-foot aerial ladder platform to lower a flotation vest, rescue sling and rope to the man.

But as members of the YHFD Water Rescue Team were preparing to launch their boat upstream, the man became more visibly fatigued and showed signs of possible hypothermia, officials said.

The decision was made to have the man let go of the branch and allow the current and rope attached to him bring him to rescuers downstream by way of a “pendulum” method. He was promptly caught and removed from the frigid water by CFD personnel to awaiting EMS.

The man was taken to Westchester Medical Center for evaluation of non-life-threatening injuries. His dog had not been found as of late last night, fire officials said.

"This rescue could not have been successful without the training, equipment and teamwork that was displayed by the 50+ First Responders on scene from all agencies involved. Over the past 10 or so years, your CFD Volunteers have increased our training, as well as our equipment cache, for emergencies such as these. We thank the Village of Croton-on-Hudson,NY for their constant support to help us get the tools & training we need, and thank the Yorktown Heights FD for working with us and sharing their expertise in water rescue with us, allowing us to better serve our community," Croton fire officials said on Facebook.

PHOTO/ Croton-On-Hudson Fire Department on Facebook