GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Firefighters rescued a man Saturday who jumped into the Grand River from the Fulton Street bridge and floated downstream to an island south of the U.S. 131 bridge.
The man, who reportedly jumped in around 2 p.m., suffered what appeared to be minor or no injuries, according to dispatch reports.
Grand Rapids Fire Battalion Chief Bart Perry said the man appeared to be intoxicated when firefighters reached him.
However, he was talking with firefighters and even “bragged about doing a back flip off the Fulton Street bridge,” Perry said.
Firefighters launched boats from a ramp near the fish ladder to assist in the rescue.
Firefighters wrapped the man, who appeared to be in his mid-20s, in a blanket and transported him back to the ramp for treatment. He was taken to Spectrum Health Butterworth hospital to be checked for possible hypothermia.
Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.
Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.
He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.
