Portland firefighters rescued a man Tuesday evening who was clinging to an inner tube in the Columbia River near the Interstate 5 bridge.
Around 6:50 p.m., Portland Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a boater in distress call near the bridge. Although the man had been sitting on his inner tube, he got out for some reason and couldn’t get back on it, said agency spokesman Ron Rouse. Firefighters got the man and his inner tube into Rescue Boat 17 and back to shore.
This time of year, the rescue boat keeps busy, Rouse said. “We just want everyone to be smart on the water.”
The man’s name, age and place of residence were not released.
