During the last few years, there have been only a few reported deaths from drowning at Lake Wilderness Park.

But a few is too many. Maple Valley Fire and Life Safety and the city of Maple Valley have started a program to take the number to zero.

The department and city began the life jacket loaner program June 30. There will be two life jacket stations at Lake Wilderness Park and another at Pipe Lake.

According to Capt. Kyle Ohasi, spokesman for the Maple Valley Fire, this is based on the honors system. Adults and children can come to the life jacket station and borrow a life jacket for the day, and then put it back once they are done.

The life jackets were donated by the department and can also be donated by member of the public.

Maple Valley Fire Chief Aaron Tyerman is the one who thought about putting the program at Lake Wilderness Park.

He said the idea for this program started when he heard about it from one of his staff members.

He saw a picture of the other stations and it was like a ripple effect. He said he hopes other cities will adopt this program as well.

“Every year we have the unfortunate tragedy of pulling young people and adults from the bottom of the lake,” Tyerman said. “We wanted to make sure we could provide life jackets for those who needed them.”

Once he thought of adding the program, he tasked Pete Askevold, a Maple Valley firefighter, to try to install these stations.

According to Tyerman, this is the time of year when people starting jumping in the water and don’t realize how cold it is.

He also said this is when they start to see a spike in drownings.

“It only takes a few minutes for hypothermia to set in,” Tyerman said.

Askevold said he thinks this program is a huge thing for the community. He said it makes life jackets available for people and that puts them on their radar, so they don’t just forget to put one on.

“The misconception of drowning is flaying and asking for help, but it’s silent,” Askevold said.

Askevold had the unfortunate job of responding to a drowning at Lake Wilderness a couple of years ago.

He said there was a group of teenagers jumping off the dock and one the boys did not know how to swim well, so when he jumped off, he never came up.

When the dive team finally found him, he was just barely alive and later died at the hospital.

“Until you’re actually involved with someone dying, that’s when it really hits you,” Askevold said. “That whole experience is when I think the seed was planted.”

The life jacket loaner program is free of charge to the public.

According to the fire department, it makes the lake that much safer and enjoyable in the summer.

“If we can prevent just one (drowning), this whole program was worth it,” Tyerman said.