Features

Warm pool rescue 

Deputy Fire Chief Gil Dong said the Berkeley Fire Department will be sending a letter to a lifeguard at the Berkeley High School warm pool for rescuing a 40-year-old man he hauled unconscious from the water. 

The 911 call came in at 5:30 p.m. Monday, and when firefighters arrived they found the man unresponsive but alive. He was rushed to the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center on Ashby Avenue, where he was admitted after emergency room treatment. 

“He is expected to survive,” said the deputy fire chief. 

The man had been underwater for between 15 and 30 seconds before his rescue. 

Fire-starter 

A smart move by a Berkeley Fire Department engine crew resulted in the apprehension of a 17-year old who had started two fires near the Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley at 1009 Heinz Ave. 

It was around midnight Wednesday when a crew returning from an emergency call decided to cruise by the school, where an earlier fire had destroyed a bench, said Deputy Chief Dong. 

“They found a juvenile starting another small fire with newspapers,” he said. 

The firefighters called police, who took the 17-year-old woman into custody. 

“We will be following up to change that behavior,” said the deputy chief. 

Neither fire endangered the school, he said.