Three men rescued from sinking boat in Corson’s Inlet
PETERSBURG — Township Committee honored the first responders involved in the rescue of three boaters last fall in Corson’s Inlet.
Mayor Jay Newman said the incident occurred Oct. 30 in Corson’s Inlet and that the quick actions of those involved resulted in the successful rescue of three individuals from the water.
“Corson’s Inlet has always been a dangerous entrance and exit, and until we get a beach replenishment project, which is due to come up this spring and fall, it will remain that dangerous,” Newman said.
The Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company received a call reporting a small boat had “succumbed to the rough waters of Corson’s Inlet, about a 1/20-mile off the coast, with three victims in the water in need of rescue.”
The resolution honoring the SVFC states it “quickly mobilized and within 13 minutes were able to locate and rescue the three individuals.”
“Given the dire circumstances these three victims faced, the situation would have certainly ended in tragedy had not the members of the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company respond as quickly and skillfully as they did,” the resolution states. “We extend … our heartfelt gratitude and admiration for their quick lifesaving actions on that day and for their commitment to the safety and well-being of their fellow citizens every day.”
Newman said the boaters “had enough gumption to pull out a cell phone and call 911, which was answered by our telecommunicators over at the Ocean City Police Department.”
The Ocean City Fire Department and SVFC, along with the State Police Marine Bureau, arrived on location and were able to rescue all of the victims.
Newman laid out the timeline:
The Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company was dispatched at 10:47 and on scene where the boat is kept at 10:51. At 10:51, Marine 9, the rescue boat, was reported en route. The rescuers were on the scene at 10:55 and at 11:01, the victims were all on board and heading back to shore.
“Fortunately, there were no injuries in the incident. That’s the outcome we want,” Newman said.
The longtime chief of the Marmora Volunteer Fire Company said such rescues are not the result of luck.
“Systems are put into place, people train and purchase equipment for this very moment,” he said. “Standard procedures were followed by Strathmere fire company, the dispatcher and the State Police Marine Bureau. Everything came together and the people were rescued in a timely, efficient, professional manner.”
Committeeman Mark Pancoast said first responders go unnoticed on actions the take every day.
“This is just one incident that captured our attention,” he said. “There are three people that are alive because of their actions, and that shouldn’t go unnoticed.”
Honored individually was Capt. Brian Riordan, who “along with his fellow firefighters, quickly and expertly mobilized their marine rescue boat into the rough surf and within 13 minutes were able to locate and rescue the three individuals.”
The fellow firefighters honored were Scott Oliver and Herb Hollinger.
Kudos also went out to Senior Public Safety Telecommunicator Trish Callahan and Public Safety Telecommunicator Christopher Belles of the Ocean City Police Department.
“Despite being the first link in the chain of emergency response, and the most critical contact our citizens have with emergency services, all too often these unseen and unsung heroes go unappreciated after they perform their stressful emotionally and mentally taxing duties,” the resolution states.
Callahan received the 911 call reporting that the victims’ boat engine would not start and the vessel was sinking.
“Within seconds Trish had obtained the distraught caller’s approximate location, alerted the appropriate first responders and instructed the victims to put on their life jackets,” it states. “Trish was a multi-tasking wonder, obtaining vital information, providing necessary updates to first responders and simultaneously extending calm and comfort to the scared and panicked victim as she remained on the line with him up until the moment he and the others were rescued.”
Belles was honored for his “skillful and efficient assistance with the communications and response coordination during the chaotic ordeal.”
Also honored was Staff Sgt. Jamie Ablett of the New Jersey State Police Marine Services Bureau.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff