Kent firefighters used a ladder truck and basket to lift a man Tuesday afternoon from the Green River shore after a woman and man had rescued the man from drowning.

A passerby called 911 at about 4 p.m. to report a possible drowning in the 22000 block of Frager Road, according to a Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority media release.

When firefighters arrived, the man was on the edge of the river and conscious. He appeared to be suffering from an unknown medical condition as well as exposure to the extremely cold water of the river, said Kent Fire Department spokesman Kyle Ohahsi.

Firefighters and paramedics provided medical assistance to the man at the river bank until a rescue stokes basket could be lowered to them using the tiller ladder truck. Ladder trucks have the ability to lower their aerial ladder below parallel to the ground.

Using this system, the man was brought up the bank, evaluated by medics, and transported to a local hospital.

Ohashi said it was unknown how the man got into the river or why he was there.

Jerry Coupe, of Kent, who was riding his bicycle along Frager Road, told a reporter he helped a woman pull the man out of the river. He said the woman was walking along the road and heard the man yelling for help. Another man on the road called 911.

“She got his neck out of the water and we pulled him up,” Coupe said. “When she got there, his face was in the water. The woman is the real hero. She was the first one to the water.”

Coupe said he had heard Kent Police officers say they knew the man because he is reportedly homeless and camps in the nearby woods. He said the man told officers he was swimming in the river.

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