Maple Grove Starts Free Life Jacket Loaner Program at Weaver Lake
Drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional death for children. That fact served as motivation for the Maple Grove Fire Department to install a life jacket loaner station on Friday at Weaver Lake.
“People will be out boating, they get here, they go, ‘oh, I don’t have having life jacket with,’ they aren’t going to drive home,” said Jeremy Berger with the Maple Grove Fire Dept. “Now they have a solution here. We want to make sure everybody’s got free access to a life jacket here, if you forget it, maybe you can’t afford one.”
The fire department has set up a “flotation station” near the boat launch. It’s one of two stations that will allow people free access to a life jacket while they are spending time on Weaver Lake.
Berger stocked the station with all sizes of jackets, from infant to adult.
This project was made possible with help from Maple Grove Parks and North Memorial Health Hospital.
Berger emphasized not only the importance of a life jacket in preventing drowning, but in swimming lessons too.
The flotation station at Weaver Lake has free life jackets available in all sizes.
