Off-Duty Firefighter Saves Drowning Canadian Man

A tragedy was avoided last month when three visitors took swift action to save a drowning man's life at Osoyoos Lake, near Brookvale Campground in Vancouver, Canada last month.

When a 39-year-old man began struggling to stay afloat, unable to swim back to shore, he eventually slipped beneath the surface and began to drown, reports say. Seeing the man in trouble, and then watching him slip beneath the surface, two bystanders rushed to retrieve the man's unconscious body and return it to shore.

Matthew Smith, an off duty firefighter from Calgary, quickly began CPR. The victim, a migrant agricultural worker from Mexico was successfully resuscitated before the ambulance arrived.

The man was taken to South Okanagan General Hospital after the ordeal and released later that day.

Reports say that without the rescue from the two bystanders, identified by officials as David Ehrhardt, from Burnaby, Canada, and Melanie Sullivan, from Osoyoos, Canada, along with Smith for performing CPR,  the man would have likely died.

In a situations like this one, victims' questions may be answered by experts in dealing with water safety. The Doan Law Firm, P.C. has extensive experience in lake drowning and water accidents and can assist any family suffering loss or injury. Contact The Doan Law Firm, P.C., led by Drowning injury attorney Jimmy Doan, call us today.

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