It has been a dangerous and deadly summer thus far on Renfrew County waterways.
The paramedic service says within the last two months it has responded to 10 drowning or near drowning calls, which have resulted in three deaths – numbers that are higher than in years past.
Nick LeRiche, Acting Deputy Chief of Operations with the Renfrew County Paramedics, says there is a consistent factor between many of the drowning calls they respond to.
“The similar factor tends to be not wearing a lifejacket.”
He says across the county there are over 900 bodies of water, and summer tourism brings more swimmers and boaters to the region.
“These calls are happening in all different scenarios,” says LeRiche. “They’re at pools, beaches, on large bodies of water, small bodies of water, shallow water, deep water.”
The Renfrew County Paramedic Service has a boat that deploys out of Renfrew which is used to respond to calls on the water and access patients in remote locations.
But paramedics say if they are called to potential drowning incidents, it is most likely already too late.
“Geographically, we just can’t be there in five minutes,” says community paramedic Matt Rousselle.
“It still takes time to get in the water. Seconds count when someone is drowning. So that’s why we really rely on the public and people themselves to help themselves.”
Rousselle says these drowning incidents happen when people least suspect them, and recommends lifejackets be worn when on and around water, and that children stay within close proximity to adults.
“You’ve got to wear it, that is the biggest thing we want to emphasize, is you have to wear your lifejacket or doesn’t work,” he says.
“People tend to panic, especially if they can’t swim when they go into the water, especially if they’re in a boat or they fall off the dock, that’s the issue right now. And that’s why a lot of people are drowning.”
It is not a legal requirement to wear a lifejacket while on the water, but they are required to be present in boats. Paramedics say they cannot force anyone to wear a lifejacket.
“We’ve seen a couple of bad incidents this year with drownings just because they’re on a boat, they never intended to go in the water, and they ended up in the water. They couldn’t swim, or they had a medical event, and then they’ve drowned,” recalls community paramedic Brad Boehringer.
“Once you’re in the water, it’s too late to put a lifejacket on.”