4-14-24 First responders locate drowning victim

On 4/14/24 at 9:20 PM, the Chattanooga Fire Department and other agencies responded to the area of the TN River behind 418 Manufacturers Road on the report of a party in the water- a possible drowning. Squad 1 arrived on scene and used bolt cutters to open a gate for access to the property to get to the incident site. Personnel from CFD, CPD, and TWRA immediately established where the party was last seen and began a surface area search of the dock and adjacent river bank. Dive teams were requested from Dallas Bay VFD and Hamilton County STARS to assist with the search. CFD Fireboat 10 began a surface search from the water and a sub-surface search using side scan sonar. Hamilton County STARS was in charge of dive operations. Fireboat 10 ferried divers to the site from Ross’s Landing. Dive Operations later transitioned from search mode to recovery. Hamilton County STARS made several sweeps of the area with their boat using side scan sonar and found several points of interest before making the next dives. The victim was located at 1:17 AM on 4/15/24. Members from Squad 1 and Fireboat 10 assisted with removing the victim, a 21-year-old male, from the water and transferring him to the ambulance. Command was terminated and all CFD units returned to service at 2:33 AM. Squad 1, Engine 12, Squad 20, Fireboat 10, Battalion 1 and Battalion 3 Green Shift were on this call.