Decorah Fire Department handles river rescue

Members of the Decorah Fire Department were called to the Upper Iowa River shortly after noon Tuesday when they received a report of a capsized canoe.

The canoeists had capsized near the Cattle Creek Bridge and were unable to get out of the water.  Upon arrival the Fire Department deployed their inflatable raft and also their flat bottom boat and started searching upstream and downstream from the bridge.  The Cresco Fire Department was also dispatched to the scene and deployed a boat upstream to help with the search and rescue.  With the help of the Iowa State Patrol plane the canoeists were located and rescued safely by fire department and law enforcement personnel.  The search took over three hours.

13 members of the Decorah Fire Department were assisted by Winneshiek County Sheriff's Deputies, DNR agents, Cresco firefighters, Iowa State Patrol officers, Winneshiek Ambulance workers and first responders.