Firefighter Training Pays Off As Dog is Saved From Duluth Ship Canal

DULUTH, Minn. — The Duluth Fire Department answers all kinds of calls.  The calls you hear about are often times fire calls and medical situations.  But then there are the more unique calls, such as a dog that recently ended up in the Duluth Ship Canal.

The Duluth Fire Department regularly trains for water rescues. Crews from Fire Station One were recently at Pier B training with the department’s Marine -3, a 14-foot inflatable rescue boat.

“Well, this boat rides a little flatter in the water, so just getting used to the controls and make sure everything is operable,” said Mark Halvorson, a Duluth firefighter. “Nothing is better than actually pulling it out of the station and getting it on the water.”

The department’s larger boat, Marine 19, has been put away for the winter for safekeeping.

On Thursday, December 8th, the St. Louis County Dispatch Center received a call from the owner of a dog that had escaped its leash and jumped into the Ship Canal.

The first firefighter on the scene put on his ice rescue suit and got into the water, swimming toward the dog.

This video taken from the Lift Bridge shows him getting into the water and working to get to the dog. He was having trouble because of the 8-foot waves and the fact that the dog was dark. The dog was in trouble and kept slipping below the surface.

With help from spectators who were watching and had portable lights, the firefighter was able to grab hold of the dog’s collar.  With the collar in his hand, he was working to keep the dog’s head out of the water.

The heavy waves and the wind pushed the pair under the bridge.

Marine 3, the department’s inflatable boat, was now on the scene. Firefighters in the water and on the boat worked together and were able to drag the dog into the boat.

Once he was safely on board the boat was driven to South Pier One. Where the DFD says although exhausted, and suffering from exposure, he quickly showed great improvement.  He soon stopped shivering and was soon able to walk on a leash with his owner with his tail was wagging.

One of the firefighters who were training today had some advice for everyone who is thinking of venturing onto any ice-covered lake.

“Make sure you check with the DNR Website, they usually post ice depth, ” said Halvorson. “Generally, three of four inches is what you need to walk on and that still can be sketchy,  depending on the lake you’re on there could be springs which keep the ice even thinner.”