On June 18, 1996, Thomas Brach rescued a man from drowning below a Power Plant near Nelson, British Columbia. Responding to a call, Mr. Brach and his team of firefighters found a man caught in a whitewater canyon, some 30 metres from shore. Mr. Brach donned a wetsuit, swam a lifeline into the whirlpool and managed to secure a flotation device around the victim's arm. Firefighters began pulling them in but the combined weight of the two men dragged them under the surface. Fearing for the man's life, Mr. Brach let go of the line and was swept back into the powerful eddy. Although exhausted, he managed to swim to a second lifeline and he too was successfully pulled to shore.