Drowning alert provides successful test for Yatesville Lake first responders

Late on June 13th at Lawrence Counties Yatesville Lake a distress call went out advising of a possible drowning. A great response followed by several emergency units in the area.

Luckily, the subject was located and not seriously injured in this case. But it provided a glimpse of the teamwork that goes into making sure that every person that chooses to enjoy our lake is safe.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) every day about 10 people die from an intentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading cause of injury death in the United States. An additional 332 people die each year from drowning in boating related incidents. 

The list of agencies that responded or assisted in this rescue effort Monday at Lawrence County’s Yatesville Lake were:

Lawrence Co. 911, Louisa Fire Department, Fallsburg Fire Department, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, Lawrence County Search and Rescue, Kentucky State Police, Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Air Evac Lifeteam 116- Inez, Kentucky, District 1 Constable Paul Wells, US Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters, Netcare Ambulance, and Big Sandy Fire Department, Rough Terrain Rescue, Morgan Co. Rescue, Floyd Co. Emergency & Rescue Squad, KYEM Area 8 and Ashland- Boyd Co.- Catlettsburg Emergency Management, Grayson Diver resue and Tony Kidd at Yatesville Lake State Park for assistance and for providing an additional boat to help with the search.

One could only imagine the time spent and tax dollars (even though no dollar amount could be put on a life) it takes to insure that people are safe when a disaster happens. 

There are several things people can do this summer to make sure that their outings are safe. Please take notice to all rules posted to keep from being a statistic in Lawrence Co. Or anywhere for that matter. A BIG shout out to all of these people that risk their lives to save other people from disaster.