Firefighters Save Boater Stranded On Scott County Dam

A water rescue quickly became a frantic scene for firefighters as they also nearly became victims Tuesday morning in Scott County.

Fire officials tell ABC 36 News that a man was night fishing from his boat on North Elkhorn Creek when he got disoriented in the dark and quickly came within a few feet of tumbling over a dam on the waterway.

When first responders arrived on the scene, they said they found the boat about halfway off the dam, the engine in reverse and the man clinging to the inside of the boat.

Scott County Fire Chief Mike Filler said the boat got stuck on a log that was jammed on the dam’s edge, keeping that boat from going over and potentially saving the man’s life.

Scott County fire crews called their water rescue team to the scene to save the man and his boat, but during the course of the rescue the firefighters almost became victims themselves.

Fuller said the fire department boat got caught up in the current and almost went over the dam.

"We got down there and started having a little trouble with our boat getting hung up,” Fuller said. “We just ended up transferring him into our boat and [brought] him back and [decided] we would worry about getting the boat off later."

Fire officials say the man was shaken up, but wasn’t injured in the ordeal.