2 rescues in 2 days on the Snoqualmie River – KIRO 7 news Seattle

It has been a busy weekend for Snoqualmie Fire and Rescue.
Two people had to be pulled out of the Snoqualmie River within two days when they entered after their dogs.
The water is much cooler than the air. These two people discovered it the hard way at Sandy Cove Park.
Their dogs were taken away. They came in after the dogs, and the people and the dogs had to be rescued.
âYeah, but we weren’t paying attention other than that woman,â said Thomas Samuelsen.
He saw it arrive just before 9 a.m. on Sunday. He was preparing for the annual Bondhead Endura, a motorbike ride for old bikes and self-styled old men.
âDoggone it,â he said. “It looked dangerous.”
The man’s wife was screaming. He and the dog were playing with a ball. Then they were in the water.
âAnd then he couldn’t climb because it’s straight and really slippery,â Samuelsen said.
The Snoqualmie River washed them both away. Someone called Snoqualmie Fire and Rescue.
âThey had so much in boats, so much in other areas, and people in wetsuits,â Samuelsen said.
Those firefighters came with something else, an inflatable kayak stored on top of their engine – the only department to do so in the state, they said.
This reduced their rescue time to minutes.
âTo get here, find the patient, assess the situation, stabilize the situation and initiate the rescue, it took about 10 minutes,â said Snoqualmie firefighter Benjamin Parker.
It happened the day before when a woman came in after her dog. Cathy George, responsible for the nearby carousel, also saw the big response.
âOh, it’s amazing,â said George. âSo they quickly faced the situation. And I went out after that, and they said they did it, which is really cool.
On the day of this rescue, Snoqualmie Fire posted a video to remind people of the danger of the river.
What he saw here persisted for Samuelsen.
âI don’t know,â he said. âIf I had a pet, I wouldn’t want them to be near this thing. It is moving.
The good news is that everyone made it out alive.
People and their dogs too.
But firefighters want to remind you to wear a personal flotation device whenever you play near water.
It will almost always save you from what happened here this weekend.