Two Kalispell Firefighters have received the Kalispell Fire Department Life Saver Award in a daring rescue on the Stillwater River last month. Firefighters Zach Lenz and Chris Albrecht literally put their lives on the line to rescue a man clinging to a log in the fast-moving, freezing water.
The 9-1-1 call came in at 9:20 that Thursday morning that a man was floating down the Stillwater River. A ream of 6-Firefighters from the Downtown Fire Station responded to Leisure Drive–off Willow Glen Road, looking for the man. Sheriff Deputies, using a drone, spotted the man further downstream, so the Kalispell Units moved to an area off Lower Valley Road, near Alfalfa Drive. There, the spotted the man in the river, still grasping the log. Because of a language barrier, communication was complicated.
Firefighters deployed a throw bag, but the man was too cold to be able to grab onto it. It was clear that he wasn’t going to last much longer in the frigid water, so Firefighter Zach Lenz went into the water, using a rope handled onshore by Firefighter Chris Albrecht. Lenz reached the man while Albrecht, using the rope, brought both men to shore.
Kalispell Fire Department medics transported the still-unidentified man to the Logan Health E-R.
Fire Chief Jay Hagen tells us the awards will be presented to the firefighters at an upcoming City Council meeting.
