Tempe Fire Department urges safety, public to stay alert after multiple drownings

TEMPE, AZ — Emergency crews in Tempe pulled two bodies out of Tempe Town Lake this week alone.

Friday, emergency crews pulled the body of an unidentified man out of the lake. An investigation is still ongoing.

Just days before, Tempe Fire and Rescue found the body of 47-year-old Michael Reyes, who was seen swimming in the lake the evening before.

In Reyes’ case, someone in a nearby apartment filmed the man in the water and called the police.

“It's a challenging time when you have to go in and recover someone, we hate to see this type of incident,” Tempe fire department assistant chief of emergency operations, Tony Butch said.

Butch wants to make sure people are aware of the restrictions at the lake and what the public can do to save lives.

“For health and safety reasons, we do not allow recreational swimming,” Butch said. “So, if you did see someone in there, it is out of the ordinary.”

Last year, the city installed dozens of publicly accessible life rings around the lake.

Butch said if people see anyone swimming in the water, they should reach out to authorities right away.

“Throw the flotation device out there right away right and then call 911 immediately,” Butch said.

The city also outfitted police and fire with flotation throw bags for emergencies and started a park ranger program last year.

“We do have park rangers and police officers patrolling the area seven days a week. However, it's not 24/7 and this lake is a large area,” Butch said. “So that's a lot of ground to cover.”

When there is a call for someone in the lake, the fire department’s rescue teams aim to be on scene in around five minutes. If the rescue turns into a recovery mission, the dive team is called.

“The City of Tempe is one of the only departments in the valley that has a dive team operation,” Butch said.

Tempe fire reports three drownings in Tempe Town Lake so far this year and roughly a dozen over the past seven years.