GREAT BARRINGTON — At just past 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon (March 23), the Great Barrington Fire Department was dispatched, along with the Great Barrington Police Department and Southern Berkshire Ambulance for a car in Lake Mansfield with an occupant still inside.

Dispatch promptly dispatched a wrecker to respond as well, Great Barrington Fire Chief Charlie Burger said in a statement on the department’s Facebook page. The department responded with Engine 2 and Rescue 7 and members of the department’s swift-and-surface water-rescue team.
Fire personnel arrived to find a Toyota sedan floating approximately 15 feet in the lake with a single elderly male occupant. The car was slowly taking on water. Great Barrington firefighters simultaneously deployed an inflatable boat and hooked the car with the wrecker.
Since the car was still floating and the victim did not appear to be injured or in distress, it was therefore determined it would be safest to pull the car to shore. Once the car was to shore, the victim, whom Burger did not identify, was able to exit the car on his own power. He was treated by ambulance and transported to Fairview Hospital for further evaluation.
No oil or gas spilled from the vehicle and there were no other injuries. Burger said the GBFD would like to thank Decker’s Auto Body for their assistance on scene.