SEQUIM — A 15-year-old boy was rescued from the middle of the Dungeness River with a dislocated knee.
Battalion Chief Chris Turner said Clallam County Fire District 3 firefighters and medics from the Blyn Fire Station responded about 6:30 p.m. Thursday to find the reporting party at the Dungeness Forks Campground on Forest Service Road 2880.
The teenager was lying on a small island in the middle of the Dungeness River, Turner said, and the medic crew wore flotation devices to wade across the river to begin treatment and stabilization.
The fire district’s Technical Rescue Team was dispatched to assist, and the teen was treated on scene for his injuries, set in a Stokes litter carrier, and carried through knee-high water to a stretcher on the opposite side of the river, Turner said.
Eleven first responders from the fire district and two from Olympic Ambulance responded to the call.
The boy was transported to Olympic Medical Center, Turner said.
District officials said the boy told them he was chasing and/or watching the fish in the river before he injured himself.
Turner added that, while the river is beautiful, it can be dangerous, and visitors should be prepared with personal flotation devices, aware of hypothermia, and have a plan in case of an emergency.
