The currents on Lake Michigan can be stronger than even the strongest swimmers, resulting in dangerous situations and even drownings.
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After the most recent fatality in early August, Chase Froese, 20, of Carol Stream, Ill., Porter Town Council member Elka Nelson said that she found a way to provide rescue teams with the tools for critical situations — an air-thrust launcher with a line thrower and auto-inflatable sling.
“I saw an article about (rescuers in) Chikaming County in Michigan who saved someone with this device,” Nelson said. “I believe that it could be instrumental in saving people here at our beaches when the waves become five or six feet tall, like they did last month with the woman who drowned. No one who was a strong swimmer was in a position to save her.”
It wasn’t the first time that the conditions have been so dangerous that they prevented rescue, said Nelson.
“Our guys saved two people earlier in the year but were almost victims themselves because they were wearing their uniforms and struggled,” she said. “Sometimes it’s just not possible to rescue without a boat or a helicopter, so we wanted equipment that wouldn’t put people’s lives in danger.”
The device, called a ResQmax, is a non-pyrotechnic, reusable and refillable launcher that propels line with floatation device that inflates upon impact with the water. The line can extend to distances up to 300 feet, and Porter Police Chief Jamie Spanier said they plan to begin training first responders on how to use the device in the coming days.
“This will allow someone to do something from the shore if the waves or too great or they’re not able to swim,” Spanier said. “The launcher will be kept at the beach in a 16-gauge metal box, locked with a combination that can be given to anyone who goes for training, including police, fire, and we will offer it to the National Lakeshore.”
The cost of the ResQmax launcher was $2,600 approved by the Porter Town Council from CEDIT funds and Spanier said he is hopeful that the device will save lives.
“It’s another tool to add to our toolbox,” he said.
Heather Augustyn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.