Firefighters rescue two women after canoe capsizes in Lake Mattawa in Orange

ORANGE — Following the rescue of two women whose canoe capsized in Lake Mattawa on Thursday night, the Fire Department is encouraging paddlers to always wear life jackets on the water.

According to the department’s Facebook page, on-duty and call-force personnel were dispatched with a boat and an ambulance to the lake at roughly 7:30 p.m. Upon arrival, they found an upside-down canoe with a woman holding onto the side of it a little more than 100 feet from shore. The Fire Department’s boat was deployed with two firefighters, who learned there was a second woman trapped under the canoe. The second woman had a pre-existing mobility impairment and was unable to get out unassisted.

Firefighters reportedly provided a life jacket to the first woman and then focused their attention on the other, according to the Facebook post. They attempted to upright the canoe and felt resistance, and a firefighter discovered the victim’s head had become wedged in a hole in the wooden seat, hyperextending her neck and trapping her in the canoe. The firefighters helped the woman keep her head above water and reassured her while they devised a plan for extrication.

First responders maneuvered the rescue boat for better access and freed the woman, pulling her and the other woman into the Fire Department’s boat before returning them to shore for medical evaluation. According to the Facebook post, one of the women — both of whom had canoeing experience but were not wearing life jackets — was taken to Athol Hospital for further treatment.

The rescue crew then returned to the canoe to recover as many personal items as possible, as well as the canoe itself. Multiple firefighters and Orange police officers were on scene providing support on shore as well. The scene was cleared at 8:12 p.m.

State law requires canoeists and kayakers to wear life jackets from Sept. 15 to May 15, but the Orange Fire Department recommends always having one when out on the water. According to the state’s website, most boating fatalities are the result of people not wearing a life jacket.