Excerpts from the journal stand.com:
Rescue workers say a man who was kayaking in the Rock River near the Fordam Dam downtown will be OK after being pulled from the water.
Rockford firefighters were called to the area before noon Wednesday. A 46-year-old man in a kayak wearing a life preserver got caught in the strong current and needed to be pulled from the lower part of the dam. The cold temperature of the running water rendered the man unable to perform even the smallest effort, the Rockford Fire Department said.
Two men who were fishing on their lunch break from MegaFab helped rescue the man.
They drove from the west side of the river to the east bank, where they scaled a 10-foot fence with barbed wire at the top in order to reach the walk above the dam and drop the chain to the man.
They kept the man safe until firefighters arrived. The Rockford Fire Department described them as heroes in a news release.
Once firefighters arrived, they dropped a ladder and rescue rope down to the man. Two firefighters donned cold-water suits and went into the water to apply a rescue harness and help him up the ladder.
More with videos on the Rockford FD Twitter page
