Joliet firefighters, police rescue man from frigid Des Plaines River

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Updated: January 12, 2012 9:15PM

JOLIET - A man who reportedly jumped into the Des Plaines River from a Joliet bridge is being treated for hypothermia after a Monday morning rescue by police and firefighters.

Firefighters arrived at the Jefferson Street Bridge just after 7 a.m. after learning a man was in the river. Police were already there and officers had already deployed some ropes to help get the man out, Joliet Fire Dept. Deputy Chief Ray Randich said.

Although the man had grabbed onto the ropes and was pulled him up to the river wall, there was still no way up, Randich said.

“Once you’re up to that, there’s still no way out. No ladders. You have to be rescued,” he said.

Firefighters used a cold weather submersion suit to put a firefighter in the frigid waters and pull the man to safety, Randich said.

The man, believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s, was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet in “stable” condition after suffering hypothermia, Randich said.