Tales from the Harbor Unit
I’ve been detailed once again to the Boston Police Harbor Patrol. For a couple of days this week, and a couple of days later in the month, I’ll respond with a pair of officers to emergencies on the water.
The Harbor Patrol monitors not only the regular police frequencies, but also those used by the Coast Guard. Today, just as I reported for work, a voice came over the radio, asking for help several miles outside the harbor, south of the city.
“Vessel requesting assistance, this is Coast Guard Sector Boston,” answered a female Coast Guard communicator. “Say your location and nature of your distress.” She spoke with the calm, professional demeanor of an air traffic controller. Clearly, this was not her first time handling an emergency.
“We’re taking on water,” the anxious boater reported. “We can’t make it to shore.”
“Say the number of persons on board, a description of your vessel, and your precise location.”
“It’s a light blue sailboat,” the other voice said, sounding much more anxious now. “We’re sinking outside of Hingham Harbor. There are two people in the boat and one person in the water.”
Listening to this exchange, I found myself getting caught up in the drama. How long would it take for help to arrive? Were there children involved? How well could they swim? I imagined them panicking as they jumped or fell into the sea.
It’s funny, but I rarely feel anxious at emergency scenes. The chaos, the blood, the panic of the victims – it’s all become second nature. It was different listening to an emergency happening miles away. Handling an emergency is one thing, I suppose, but listening to an emergency from the sidelines is something else. I felt strangely helpless.
The Coast Guard notified the harbormaster in Hingham, who responded at high speed in a powerboat. It took a while to locate the victims, but everyone was finally brought to shore.
After the crisis had ended, one of the Harbor Patrol cops, a former Coast Guardsman himself, told a related story.
“I was working in the Comm Center one time, just like that woman we just heard,” he said. “And there was this ship coming over from China that took on water. The guy who called on the radio was Chinese, so he didn’t speak much English. I asked all the usual questions – size of the ship, location, number of people on board – because I needed to know what kind of help to send.”
The cop paused for a moment, laughing at the recollection. “The guy didn't answer any of my questions. He was just too scared. And it seems funny now, because the whole thing turned out okay. He shouted, 'Never mind color of boat! Halfway down! You come now!'"
posted by TS @ 10:47 AM
11 Comments:
I think in Boston is called the
Habbah Unit :)
What kind of emergencies happen on the water? Is it mostly people falling in, or is it medicals on boats? And do BPD and BFD use seperate boats. I know you mentioned that you were on a boat with two policemen, but I would have thought that EMS responses would have been done from a BFD boat. I've seen pictures of the new fireboat, its a real beauty.
Hopefully no firemen will claim a career-ending disability from injuries related to stepping onto the boat- hey, if stepping off a curb or moving a file cabinet both caused career ending disabilites for BFD Deputy Chiefs, why can't climing onto a boat? What do you think about the whole situation around the alleged disability scheme? Personally, I don't care for Menino, and I think his anti-union viewpoints are on full view at BFD, including his bringing in a commisioner who never fought a fire in his life, so I'm inclined to support the firemen. What do you think?
Wow. So many topics in such a short span, I hardly know where to begin.
What kind of emergencies happen on the water? When I'm working, none. But one of the cops told me last night that the EMT who worked the detail before me was busy through his entire shift, handling call after call, including a man who was killed after being run over by a powerboat. Other EMTs and paramedics have worked on near-drowning victims plucked from the ocean, and heart attack victims removed from other boats. So, it does get busy at times.
BPD and BFD have separate boats. In fact, they have separate units. I'm not too familiar with the BFD vessels, but the BPD has a high-speed pursuit boat, a Zodiac inflatable, and several other patrol boats of various sizes.
I'm going to decline commenting on the disability situation, and on the mayor's relationship with unions, and on the fire commissioner's abilities, because those things have nothing to do with my post.
Thanks for the comments and questions.
Thanks for the information. A high-speed pursuit boat. Cool. I guess I'll never try to run from BPD in a boat!
And I thought Habbah Unit would be an easy assignment. I guess I was wrong based on some of the examples you mentioned.
Sorry if I made you uncomfortable about the FD issues, I can understand why you don't want to comment.
You were correct in your understanding that it's generally an easy assignment. Certainly easier than running to a dozen calls in an ambulance, anyway. The Harbor Unit always seems to be quiet when I'm working there. But lives are occasionally saved by having an EMT or paramedic on the boat, so the program does have value.
As for the fire department, I just don't feel as if this is the proper forum for discussing those kinds of politics. This is meant to be a personal diary about my experiences as a paramedic, and I'd like to remain somewhat on topic.
Thanks.
Don't forget about the many islands that people visit/or even stay on... I remember taking a young lad w/a minor leg injury doing one of those Outward Bound courses... speed boats are cool but not the most comfortable for even the healthty let alone those w/minor injuries
For the record, Anonymous, for all his other faults Menino seems to have been a big proponent of Boston EMS as we know it today, as opposed to Boston Fire/EMS as many forces in the city want it.
The mayor has also expressed support for a bill that would make our retirement benefits similar to those of cops and firefighters, reflecting the dangerous nature of EMS.
Again, though, I don't want to wade too far into politics here, as that's not the focus of this site.
You and the other readers may feel free to do so, however.
I completly support providing Group 4 benefits to EMS employees. Is there a bill peninding in the legislature now? If so, I'll email my state rep.
Just out of curiosity, many communities (mine included), have firemen work as EMTs and paramedics. How many communities will this affect? And does this only affect municipal services, or would it also affect Armstrong, Cataldo, Fallon, etc?
There is indeed a Group 4 bill pending right now. In fact, it just cleared a committee two days ago, and will come to a final vote within the next couple of weeks.
This bill will affect public EMS employees. It will not affect employees of private ambulance companies, because even if they do 911 contract work, they do not pay into the state employee retirement system.
Thanks for the support.
Well thats a relief... Im not a member of boston EMS (not YET at least), but you fine ladies and gentlemen definitely deserve the pension and other benefits (sorry, i dont know all that much about the whole class 4 thing) that class 4 status would provide.
Yep, I worked at a Coast Guard station in Bodega Bay, CA as a watchstander and we had quite a few of those calls.
Funny, that training prepared me to be a parent. I freak out as so few things. Kids don't know what to say to "how many people on board" though.
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