Sumner High Teen Honored For Water Rescue

Patrick Finigan was enjoying a day on the water with his family last sumner at Tibbetts Beach on Lake Sammamish when he and his cousin Ian Fursman came across a group of teens where a boy and girl were clearly drowning.

Though the group was screaming for help, beach goers didn't react, said King County Sheriff John Urquhart during a ceremony in Renton Tuesday honoring the heroism of the two boys who did spring to action. 

As if the inaction wasn't enough, one man on a paddle boat reportedly saw the commotion and paddled in the opposite direction, Urquhart said.

But it wasn't like Patrick, 16, or Ian, 15, to just stand by and watch.

The boys swam to the girl who was reportedly flailing and making enough of a scene to get their attention and helped her to shore, Urquhart said. Then they returned for the boy, who by that time had become submerged in about six feet was water. 

When they brought him to shore, Patrick employed skills he learned during a CPR certification course he took at Sumner High School to assess his condition, and he determined CPR wasn't needed.

Instead the boys helped him as he expelled a substantial amount of water he'd aspirated while he was submerged.

By the time first responders arrived, they were "in fine shape and sent home, thanks to Patrick and Ian," Urquhart said.

Of the rescue, Patrick shared that those situations don't always look like they do in the movies, though for the girl's sake, hers did so they knew she was in distress. The young man's situation was much less obvious if it weren't for a friend of his who was also standing by and calling for help. 

The boys said the group of teens didn't seem to be impaired or doing anything that was obviously risky. There was a drop off on the lake floor in the area the incident too place, but the unpredictable nature of water recreation prompted Ian to offer a reminder to always take safety precautions. "The water can be fine and turn dangerous in seconds," he said.

Being a Human Being

Patrick and Ian were two of three citizens who were honored for their heroism Tuesday. Also recognized was Renton resident Corrina Wells.

Wells and her children were at Gene Coulon Park the day before Mother's Day when they saw a man who was struggling in the water.

The man had jumped into the water when he saw two boys who appeared to be drowning.

It turned out the boys were pretending to be drowning, but the man's situation was not pretend. Between his legs cramping up from the cold in the water and his struggling with the two boys before they pushed off him and got out of the water, he was clearly in distress and calling for help.

No one appeared to want to help, so Wells said she dove in. Given the man's size, she had to call on someone on shore to throw down a life saver which she used to pull him to safety. He was transported to Harborview for his injuries and had been in a coma.

Two months later, the man is recovering and they've spoken by phone, but Wells said she and the man both continue to share an anger over several aspects of that day: that the boys were in the water unsupervised when the park had not yet been opened for swimming, that they were pretending, and that no one seemed to want to help.

Wells said she is not a strong swimmer but there wasn't a choice that day. Being called a hero feels inaccurate, she said. "It's called being a human being and caring," she said. "No one was willing to help me. You should always be willing to help whether you know the person or not."

'A Lot of Sumner Left'

"Rescues like these are a good reminder that the water can turn dangerous sometimes and it can turn very quickly when it happens," King County Councilman Reagan Dunn said. 

And the risks are always there. "There is a lot of summer left," Urquhart said. 

Due to budget cuts, there is no longer a lifeguard presence on Lake Sammamish, and that is "very unfortunate," he said.

And with warmer weather than translates into snow melt in the mountains and fast-moving, cold waters down closer to sea level, sometimes it is just safer to stay out of the water.

If you must get into the water, wear a life vest and swim in areas where there is a life guard present, he said.

According to Tony Gomez of King County Public Health, there were 24 drowning deaths in King County in 2012. Two-thirds of them occurred in open water, and 9 of those deaths occurred in the July and August time frame.