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Friday, July 30, 2010 |
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McQueeney VFD gets rescue boat
Published June 22, 2008
MCQUEENEY — A little more than a year ago, the McQueeney Volunteer Fire Department was called upon to recover a body from a fast stretch of the Guadalupe River just upstream from The Bandit.
Such swiftwater rescues and recoveries are more commonplace upriver, but any piece of the river can rage when flooded by storm water.
Fire Chief Tim Bogisch recalled waiting for Seguin Fire Department’s swiftwater rescue crew because his department’s fiberglass outboard, while fine in the water around Treasure Island or on Lake Placid, couldn’t take on some substantial stretches of the river in his department’s service area.
“That was a recovery so we could wait until Seguin got to us, but what if it had been a rescue and time had been a factor?” Bogisch asked.
It was a $22,000 question a cash-strapped group of unpaid volunteers shouldn’t even dare ask, but thanks to CMC Steel, The Friends of Lake McQueeney and the Sambo Muir Memorial Fund, Bogisch got the answer this week in the form of a Mercury DR 450 rigid inflatable boat with a 40 h.p. outboard.
The boat is 15 feet long and looks a lot like the U.S. Navy’s “Zodiac” RIB.
Its operator and one passenger can sit at a center console configured over the boat’s composition hull much like a motorcycle seat while others can sit on a platform at the front or along its pontoons, which are heavy rubber impregnated fabric from an Akron, Ohio plant.
“It’s built like a recreational boat anybody could buy,” Bogisch said. “The difference is this one’s a lot heavier duty. It’s nearly indestructible.”
Then, a little bit of grim firefighter humor crept in.
“Hopefully indestructible,” Bogisch corrected himself.
The boat can carry nine people or more than 1,100 lbs and can be configured to lay a gurney across its gunwales to bring an accident victim to shore for the trip to the hospital.
With other, higher priority needs, Bogisch doesn’t know if McQueeney VFD would have ever gotten a rescue boat.
“We definitely couldn’t have considered this on our own. We don’t have the money for something like this,” Bogisch said. “If we get into a similar situation with a rescue, a boat like this will make all the difference. CMC, the Friends of Lake McQueeney and the Sambo Muir Fund support their neighbors and the entire community and one day will help save lives with this purchase.”
McQueeney VFD has two firefighters who are qualified divers, but because of the risks involved, they rarely use their gear on fire department business.
The boat, Bogisch said, would enable a broader, faster local response to a boating emergency.
“Our intent is to be able to get to them with the boat and not have to put anybody in the water,” Bogisch said.
McQueeney VFD President Kyle Richardson, owner of Performance Marine, said there was plenty of need for the craft during the summer recreation season.
“This will be very helpful when we respond to boating accidents, and we have plenty of them,” he said.
Richardson gave the department a class on the boat and its capabilities before taking it out for a series of familiarization rides on Lake McQueeney at the department’s Wednesday night drill.
“The biggest safety rules are, wear your personal flotation device and, until we get the radio installed, carry your hand-held,” Richardson told the firefighters.
The boat is designed to be launched from its trailer just like any small boat, Richardson said.
But its lightweight composite construction can even make it “man portable, meaning it can be launched by several firefighters who can either carry it or drag it off a trailer and over any navigable terrain to the water.
Richardson, who has sold boats from his McQueeney dealership for 16 years, said the firefighters would notice a profound difference between the RIB and its existing boat.
“You get in there, settle on that seat and move around a little bit and you’ll see how stable this boat is,” Richardson told the firefighters. “It isn’t going anywhere. If there’s a second crew, he or she has that backrest. To attend to a patient, an EMT just has to turn their chest to the backrest.”
Bogisch said his department would continue to familiarize itself with the new boat, its capabilities and its maintenance and upkeep — although one of the vessel’s selling points is its reputation for low maintenance.
Firefighters who could operate the craft will be certified in the state’s boating safety course, Bogisch said.
The department could explore other training opportunities as they present themselves, he said.
“We intend to take full advantage of this opportunity to better serve the public,” Bogisch said.
At CMC Steel, General Manager Phil Seidenberger said his company was basically doing the same thing — through its local fire department.
“McQueeney Volunteer Fire Department is dedicated in its service to this community,” Seidenberger said. “It’s also the first responder to our plant. We do what we can to keep them in good shape as far as equipment and technology.”
Bogisch said CMC always makes the department feel appreciated, and they in turn appreciate being home to one of this region’s larger industrial employers.
“They help us every year,” Bogisch said. “We really appreciate them.”
Seidenberger said the relationship was a two-way street.
“They decide what they need, and we try to help them because we feel it’s the right thing to do,” Seidenberger said.
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