Department of Public Safety

Firefighter Steven Nienhaus Makes a Great Save

While off-duty, Nienhaus pulls man from truck in River des Peres

August 1, 2011 | 2 min reading time

This article is 13 years old. It was published on August 1, 2011.

Firefighter Steven Nienhaus was at the right place, at the right time on the morning of Sunday, July 17 to see a pickup truck veer into River des Peres and to rescue the unconscious driver. But then, that's just the type of thing that any fireman would do, according to Nienhaus.

Nienhaus was eastbound on River des Peres Boulevard just west of Gravois when the pickup truck in the lane to his left ran out of control into the waterway. Nienhaus got out of his vehicle and swam to the driver, who was slumped over inside the truck. He then unbuckled the man's seat belt, pulled him out of the vehicle and swam the man to the shore, where three bystanders were waiting to help carry the victim up to the roadway.

When paramedics arrived, they were able to awaken the man, and they transported him to a hospital for treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

Thanks to the quick actions of Firefighter Nienhaus, a tragic outcome was avoided. Great job!

Nienhaus has served the Department for 14 years. He is stationed at Engine House No. 1 at South Jefferson Avenue and Pestalozzi. His father is a St. Louis firefighter; his grandfather also served the Department.