Boat catches fire near The Playpen in Chicago a day after multiple rescues in Lake Michigan
Firefighters were busy on Lake Michigan again Sunday amid the blazing heat, responding to a boat fire near The Playpen close to Ohio Street Beach.
CBS News Chicago was there as the call came out. Fire officials said the blaze was electrical in nature, and at least 20 people were on the boat at the time.
No one ended up in the water, and no one was hurt.
This came only a day after rescue crews pulled multiple people from Lake Michigan as crowds packed the beach.
"When something bad happens out in the water, water is unforgiving," said Chicago Fire Department dive coordinator Jason Lock.
At least three people were sent to hospitals after being pulled out of Lake Michigan on Saturday — and one of them died. Another person was still missing a day after ending up in the water.
Back at The Playpen on Saturday, a man was sent to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition after he lost part of his foot in the water. Lock said this happened after two boats got too close to each other.
"A gentleman was hanging on the side of the boat, couldn't get on to his vessel fast enough, and the boats hit side by side and he amputated part of his foot off," said Lock.
And at Navy Pier, police said a 27-year-old woman identified as Zahrie Walls was pulled from the water around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and taken to Northwestern, where she died.
"She was about a mile and a half offshore," said Lock "U.S. Coast Guard actually found her on a missing search pattern and were able to bring her in."
At 63rd Street Beach on Saturday, rescue crews urgently searched high and below the surface for a man the Chicago Fire Department said fell off a boat and went missing. One other person who went into the water was rescued.
"The boat operator off a 28-foot vessel made an abrupt turn, wasn't sure on the weather, and ejected off of the boat," Lock said. "Nobody else on board knew or understood how to operate the boat."
Lock said last year, the Fire Department responded to 480 boats in distress and people in the water.
"Weather on this lake can change in a matter of five minutes. We can go from having nice calm days, we can look at this in 10 minutes and we'll have three, four-foot waves out there," said Lock. "People who are inexperienced don't know how to handle that."
Lock said he can't preach this enough — everyone should know their capabilities in the water.
"If you're not a good swimmer, stay within the guarded beaches," he said. "There's somebody there to assist you. And if the red flags are up, stay out of the water."
Fire officials said one person was still missing in Lake Michigan as of late Sunday.
