WEST YELLOWSTONE — A swimmer is alive after bystanders and nearby boaters pulled the person from the waters of Hebgen Lake in West Yellowstone and began CPR.
According to Hebgen Basin Fire District Chief Shane Grube, emergency crews responded around 5 p.m. Sunday after receiving reports of a swimmer in distress.
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"He had swum out into the water, and got out and started swimming back, and they didn't think there was any problems," Grube said. "And then all of a sudden he was in distress, and then he went right to the bottom."
Grube said witnesses on shore immediately recognized the emergency and sprang into action. Bystanders swam out from shore while nearby boaters joined the rescue effort.
The swimmer was located about 10 feet below the surface, according to the fire chief, and is believed to have been underwater for approximately four minutes.
"They recognized that he wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse, and so they immediately started CPR on the boat," Grube said.
The swimmer was brought back to shore before being airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for further treatment.
Grube said the rapid response by those nearby made a critical difference.
"Without the bystanders recognizing the emergency and then getting him out of the water," Grube explained. "That's the difference between someone who is neurologically here and someone who may be alive but is not neurologically here."
Grube added that immediate bystander CPR and rescue breaths can dramatically improve a victim's chances of survival.
"Quick action, quick bystander CPR, rescue breaths—that is the key to having good outcomes," he said.
According to the American Heart Association, a person's chance of survival decreases by about ten per cent for every minute without CPR. Starting Hearts, a nonprofit focused on improving survival from sudden cardiac arrest, wrote that bystander CPR can double or even triple a victim's chances of survival.
Dean Kahn, a fisherman at Hebgen Lake who was not present during Sunday's rescue but is CPR trained, said he believes everyone should learn it.
"I would encourage anybody and everyone to make sure you take a first aid CPR class," Kahn said.
He also recommended staying current with your CPR training.
"Refresher courses every 10 years are great," he said. "They're really great to do."
