Division Chief and spokesperson for Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority Pat Pawlak says falling into near-freezing water can shock your body, severely impairing your ability to function. “You start losing functions of your hands, and your feet, your arms and your legs,” Pawlak said. “If you’re trying to stay afloat because you do not have a flotation device, and you can’t use your hands and your legs and so on, then in reality, it’s really hard to stay afloat.” Pawlak is advising people to make sure they have safety gear at the ready when they go out into the water, and if they see someone struggling, make sure that they are safe before they try to help someone else. “Instead of going out if you’re not trained to try to rescue somebody, the best thing to do is to try to reach to try to have them grab something, whether it’s a branch or your arm, something like that, where you can brace yourself to pull them in, or to throw something such as a flotation device or something like that,” he said. Read the full story here: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/1-dead-1-critical-kayaker-auburn/281-1433d272-4aa4-4abb-97ef-bd45e0cc8649