KINGSTON — Three men were rescued by North Kitsap first responders after their canoe capsized in the Puget Sound waters near Kingston.

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a capsized canoe near the shores off of Sandy Beach Lane in Kingston at 6:30 p.m. April 2. Three Seattle-area men were using the 12-foot canoe to pull up crab pots when it capsized. None of the men were wearing life jackets.

“These men are lucky that someone along the shore noticed their plight, and called 911,” said North Kitsap Fire & Rescue Spokeswoman Michele Laboda. “In the absence of life jackets, had the incident occurred further out or wasn’t immediately noticed, the outcome could have been much worse.”

Two deputies with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office were the first on the scene and found a row boat nearby, which they used to row out to the three men and rescue them. Paramedics soon arrived and examined the three men after they had been in the frigid Puget Sound water for at least 10 minutes.

The three men, however, declined medical treatment and transport.

Laboda noted that in Puget Sound’s extremely cold environment, hypothermia becomes a threat within 15 minutes of entering the water, which will in turn impact a swimmer’s abilities.