An unidentified man in his 20s is alive today thanks to wind, a hint of curiosity, and one of Berwyn’s own.

Berwyn resident Dennis O’Leary, a 12-year veteran of the Berwyn Fire Department, and his girlfriend, Jennifer Carlsen, were out sailing June 28 when they decided to turn back to the harbors because of strong wind. Although they had docked elsewhere, Carlsen, 35, had never been to Monroe Harbor so O’Leary, 44, steered their sailboat in. That is when they saw two men struggling in the water and heard a cry for help.

“It was almost like God wanted us to go there because we had parked on the other side,” O’Leary said. “We just happened to be there, and there was no one else around.”

O’Leary circled the boat around to reach the two men, but by the time 36-foot boat made a full turn, only one man was above water. Carlsen, a personal trainer from Hoffman Estates, began the rescue effort, first throwing a buoy out to the man and then two life jackets. He wasn’t able to grab any of them.

“She then threw a long boat hook and barely grabbed him right as he was about to go under,” O’Leary said.

Carlsen was able to pull the man to the boat’s stern where O’Leary jumped into the water to get him to safety. The man’s friend, Michael Vergauwen, 52, of Downers Grove, had already drowned.

O’Leary said the two men were on a sailboat at a morning waiting for a boat to take them ashore when one of their suitcases fell into the water. The first man dove into the water at about 10:15 a.m. to try to retrieve the luggage when Vergauwen jumped in to help him, according to JoAnn Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department.

O’Leary and Carlsen took the man ashore before going back out to the harbor with divers in an attempt to find Vergauwen.

Vergauwen’s body and the suitcase were later found at the bottom of the harbor, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The other man was also taken to a hospital but his condition was unknown. Police have not released his name.

O’Leary credited his fire fighting training and Carlsen’s physical fitness in their ability to react quickly and save the man.

“We knew we just had to do something,” O’Leary said. “We wish we could’ve gotten both of them but we couldn’t see (Vergauwen).”

News of the rescue quickly reached the fire department, where O’Leary’s coworkers praised him, Assistant Fire Chief Frank Simek said.

“The whole department is proud of him,” Simek said. “Any time an off-duty firefighter is involved in any type of rescue effort or life saving incident, it always reflects on the department and the training he’s had. He just reacted and it worked out well.”