Rescue boat making waves in Fayette County waters
Submitted photos
Adah Volunteer Fire Department recently purchased a rescue boat using hotel tax funds.
This 15-foot Mako Skiff water rescue boat was recently purchased by Adah Volunteer Fire Department.
As more and more people flock to Fayette County鈥檚 waterways each summer, first responders are enhancing their capabilities to keep everyone safe.
Adah Volunteer Fire Department recently added a 15-foot Mako Skiff water rescue boat to its equipment lineup, allowing for better coverage of the Monongahela River along the county鈥檚 western edge.
鈥淎dah, alone, has coverage of the Mon for about 10 miles, stretching from Masontown to near Isabelle. This is only the second boat in the whole pool in Fayette County, from Gray鈥檚 Landing to Maxwell,鈥� Adah VFD Chief L.C. Otto said. 鈥淟uzerne Township was the first to get a boat in Labelle, which is at the opposite end of the pool, so this will help us fill in the gaps of water rescue coverage.鈥�
Equipped with 3D sonar capabilities and various rope systems, the new boat can navigate through as little as four inches of water and gives firefighters and other emergency personnel additional resources for water-related incidents.
鈥淲e wanted to enhance our response protocols to be able to better serve our communities and the many tourists that visit Fayette County. The areas along the river can be pretty transient in population, due to various boat clubs and campgrounds. A lot of Adah homes are used as 鈥榮ummer homes鈥� and only occupied a few months of the year for their riverfront access,鈥� Otto said. 鈥淥utdoor recreation 鈥� especially post-covid 鈥� has increased dramatically, so now you have an advanced risk of incidents while swimming, jet skiing, boating, kayaking and even fishing due to that extra traffic. We鈥檙e already responding to incidents where we wouldn鈥檛 have been called previously.鈥�
GO Laurel Highlands Executive Director Ann Nemanic said one of the reasons visitors travel to the Laurel Highlands region and Fayette County is to 鈥渆njoy and experience our outdoor recreational product.鈥�
鈥淲e have seen continued growth in those adventure opportunities, including mapped waterways for easy navigating soft water opportunities and buildout of additional hiking, biking and mountain biking trails,鈥� Nemanic said. 鈥淲ith all those activities, safety for locals and visitors alike remains paramount. The ability to support and provide the proper and necessary rescue and safety equipment is essential to maintaining the very best and safest experience possible.鈥�
Otto said the boat can deliver medics to patients or patients to safety; transport disabled vessels to shore; transport water pumps for fire services; and aid in cadaver searches. Additional equipment will be added to expand the boat鈥檚 capabilities in the future, and Adah firefighters are actively completing boater safety and water rescue certification courses to better serve their communities.
鈥淲e鈥檙e mutual aid, so anybody that needs it 鈥� any other fire departments in Fayette or Greene counties 鈥� it鈥檚 here for us all to use,鈥� Otto said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about starting a river rescue team, because we have people interested in volunteering for water rescue through the department that may not be interested in fire service.鈥�
County Emergency Management Agency Planner/Training Officer James Bittner said the boat will also help the Fayette County Water Rescue Team as an additional resource for 鈥渇latwater with boat access and also navigable rivers that we can launch onto鈥� in search of people and objects potentially lost in the water.
鈥淚t will allow for a faster recovery and assist divers in locating objects. We currently have to rely on sonar technology from mutual aid, and this will benefit us because it鈥檚 in the county and can arrive quickly. We鈥檝e had a few missing persons incidents near water that we lacked this tool for,鈥� Bittner said. 鈥淲e still have a gap and are working to acquire a portable sonar unit for our team that can be used in inflatable boats that can access more remote areas.鈥�
Bittner said the boat was already used to assist the Coast Guard in investigating a kayak and personal flotation device found drifting along the Monongahela River earlier this summer. While the kayak was confirmed to be unmanned and returned to its owners, Bittner said having Adah鈥檚 boat nearby for quick use was very beneficial.
鈥淚t was conveniently located near the incident, and Adah VFD was willing to assist the county team,鈥� Bittner said, adding his team responds to swift water, ice, still water and flood rescue work.
The boat was purchased with funds from a $25,000 Fayette County Hotel Tax Program grant. Otto said, without the hotel tax funding, the closest rescue boat would鈥檝e previously taken 30 minutes to 1 hour to arrive in their area.
鈥淚t gives people a sense of security knowing there鈥檚 a water rescue boat in their vicinity,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat funding was crucial.鈥�
For more information about the Adah Volunteer Fire Department, visit www.Facebook.com/AdahVFD.