Grand Rapids firefighters pull two fishermen from the Grand River near the Sixth Street Bridge after their waders fill

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids firefighters pulled two fishermen out of the Grand River on Sunday morning, Oct. 18, after the men stepped into deeper water near the Sixth Street Bridge and their waders filled. Both were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, the fire department told WOOD-TV.

Crews were called at about 7:30 a.m. to a report of two people in the water by the bridge, the department said. The men had been standing in the river on the east side of the bridge when they lost their footing, according to WOOD. The department first posted about the rescue on social media shortly before 8 a.m., MLive reported.

One man got back on his feet but could not make it to shore because his waders had filled with water. The other was carried downstream and was calling for help about 50 yards from shore, WZZM-TV reported, citing Battalion Chief Michael Witteveen, who led the rescue. Witteveen told the station both men had likely stepped into a deeper part of the river.

Firefighters launched a rescue boat from Fish Ladder Park, on the west bank, and reached the drifting man near the I-196 overpass, where they helped him into the boat, the department told WOOD. Crews from the LaGrave fire station lowered a rescuer by rope from the seawall walkway behind DeVos Place to help the other man, who was standing in water too shallow for the boat, and guided him toward the Fish Ladder Park boat launch.

The rescue came during the fall salmon season, when the Sixth Street Dam draws anglers from across the state. The dam is the first major barrier salmon meet on their way up from Lake Michigan, and chinook salmon start running in late September and peak in October, Jay Wesley, the Lake Michigan Basin coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, told Experience Grand Rapids for a fishing guide published in August.

The water below the dam is a familiar call for the department. After three fishermen were rescued there when their boat overturned in March 2024, a fire lieutenant told WZZM that crews typically handle at least two or three such rescues a year, and a local fishing guide advised less experienced anglers to fish downstream, where the current is slower.

Some of the river downtown is also off limits this year. The Grand River restoration project restricts fishing in parts of the river between the Bridge Street and Fulton Street bridges, according to Experience Grand Rapids, while the Sixth Street Dam area, Fish Ladder Park and Sixth Street Park stay open to anglers. Fishing is not allowed at the fish ladder itself. The construction is expected to last through the end of 2027.

The DNR advises anyone fishing alone to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket and to tell someone where they are going and when they expect to be back, and it warns that cold water in spring and fall can cause cold shock, which makes it hard to breathe. Outfitter Orvis recommends a snug, non-stretch wading belt, which helps keep water out of waders in a fall.

Later Sunday, firefighters were called to a second-floor fire at 190 Monroe Ave. NW, the downtown building that houses The Chop House restaurant and the Goodspeed Lofts apartments, WZZM reported, citing the Grand Rapids firefighters’ union, Local 366. The Chop House said on social media that it would be closed for the day. The station said it had not yet heard back from the fire department with more details.

Sources:
WOOD-TV, “GRFD: Fishermen rescued from the Grand River,” Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/grfd-fishermen-rescued-from-the-grand-river/
WZZM-TV, “Grand Rapids firefighters responded to calls of fishermen in the Grand River, Sunday morning,” Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/grand-rapids-firefighters-responded-to-calls-of-fishermen-in-the-grand-river-sunday-morning/69-e1ba25f1-76ac-4f5b-985e-01e03603708e
MLive, “Firefighters rescue person from Grand River near I-196,” Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2026/10/firefighters-rescue-person-from-grand-river-near-i-196.html
WZZM-TV, “Why is the Grand River at the 6th St. dam so dangerous?” March 8, 2024, https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/what-makes-grand-river-6th-st-dam-dangerous/69-812c5335-81f7-4594-a5ad-5386860058de
Experience Grand Rapids, “Grand River Coho Salmon Fishing,” Aug. 10, 2026, https://www.experiencegr.com/articles/post/grand-river-coho-salmon-fishing/
Michigan Department of Natural Resources, “DNR urges ‘safety first’ approach to time on the water,” https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDNR/bulletins/3ab8d99
Orvis, “What Gear Is Important For Safe Wading?” accessed Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.orvis.com/what-gear-is-important-to-have-for-safe-wading.html
WZZM-TV, “Second floor fire in downtown Grand Rapids,” Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/second-floor-fire-in-downtown-grand-rapids/69-177e3c04-5bcc-496d-8a52-74c52adbe457
Photo: Gpwitteveen, “Grand River in July 2018 near the fish ladder.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grand_River_in_July_2018_near_the_fish_ladder.jpg

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Tags: Grand Rapids · Grand River · Water Rescue · Grand Rapids Fire Department · Sixth Street Dam · Fishing · Public Safety