3 Replies to "UPDATE: Rescue response in 3700 block Beach Drive; no emergency after all"

• Brentut5 August 6, 2015 (2:38 pm)

  Yikes. Hope everyone is okay. When I heard the helicopter and 50 fire trucks scream down Admiral I knew there was trouble.

• Chu D. Phat August 6, 2015 (4:28 pm)

  Since we live a few houses away from the corner of Beach & 63rd Ave SW, I walked down there to check things out. The kayaker in question–wearing full-on gear including a proper kayaker’s flotation vest and all his gear (fully decked-out)–was just walking up the stairs at the Beach Drive/Constellation Park sewage sub-station pipe-outflow (where Beach Dr and 63rd Ave SW meet.)

  I jokingly asked the guy if he was the reason that 10-12 fire Dept vehicles, four Seattle Police vehicles, one news-crew helicopter, and three Coast Guard vessels were all scrambling to the scene?

  I was actually joking; At the time, I didn’t know it was him. Yikes.

  He replied: Yeah. That was me.

  What happened?

  I did a wet-exit and waved-over another nearby kayak to help me with re-entry.

  The fellow then headed over to the one of the trucks on scene and reported that he was the subject of the 911 call and that everything was OK.

  So here’s what happened. Another kayaker can help a fellow ‘yaker who’s rolled and exited (aka “wet exit”) stabilize their kayak (the two kayaks together become stable, like a catamaran in the open water, or like parallel out-riggers to each other using paddles braced across to each other) so they can get back into their kayak, pump out the water (if needed), and go on their merry way.

  The other two options–after a wet-exit–are way more time consuming and a PITA: (1) inflating a blow-up float device which attaches to the end of a paddle and acts as an out-rigger while the ‘yaker climbs back into, pumps out any water, etc. or (2) swimming and towing ‘yak to shore and getting situated again which is a real PITA, but still no big deal, if you’re out a bit from shore.

  All this is very normal, and the kayak was not further than a few hundred yards from shore.

  Seeing the quick and extremely large response by our excellent Seattle fire and rescue professionals, Seattle Police, and the Coast Guard…I was curious if Seattle has any kind of a “response protocol” in place when a 911 call is received about (literally) an upside-down, single-person kayak with a boater in the water waving his arms…”

  So, I just now asked both a Police Officer at the scene (not much response, other than a shrug, and “When somebody’s in trouble we head to the scene.” A Seattle Fire Department Official (in one of the SFD Mgmt SUV’s) was much more conversational about my question.

  From what I can gather, apparently, Seattle does not have an established protocol which governs the degree of response to such a 911 call as we had this afternoon. A one-person-one-kayak-in-distress emergency call (similar to the 911 call this Summer, after dark, about one-parachutist-in-the-water (aka “Those Damn Mylar Balloons”) results in a scramble of undetermined emergency response personnel and vehicles racing to the scene.

  I find this interesting and curious. We have very clear-cut protocols for emergency response to a building fire. One-alarm, two-alarm fire response protocols come to mind. So, why don’t we have similar protocols for a 911 call about a one-person emergency?

  Don’t get me wrong. *Every single human life is invaluable.*

  But if we don’t scramble an unlimited number of fire-trucks to a house-fire (maybe we do, and I just haven’t noticed?) unless the emergency response is escalated from a one-alarm to a two-alarm etc etc, why not have similar response protocols to 911 calls like the kayaker today or the mylar balloons down here earlier this Summer?

  I carry my paddle-board down to the same park, year-round, and paddle a few miles up and down our coastline. I’m thinking I should get a water-proof smart-phone, so that as soon as I fall off my SUP, I can call 911 and cancel whatever emergency response is already underway. Or, maybe I should hold up a sign saying, “I’m OK!”

  Actually, I mentioned something like this during my cordial conversation with the Fire Dept Official at the scene today. I said, “What if I were to call 911 and report–who I was (that I lived more or less at the scene)–and updated them about the scenario, clarified what was involved, etc…he thought that would be helpful.

  But, I still think that the likely liability ramifications (and political?) being what they are–e.g., if only two fire trucks scramble and there’s a death, could the victim have been saved if three trucks scrambled, etc etc.)

  I don’t argue with vigilant and concerned, caring people calling 911 when they spot what they perceive to be an emergency situation. That’s to be expected and encouraged. Time is of the essence when in doubt.

  In fact, we were among the first to call 911 when we had the tragedy of the flipped boat a hundred yards off-shore of Alki Point two years ago. (https://wsb.blackfin.biz/2013/11/coast-guard-helping-boat-in-trouble-off-south-alki/)

  But, I wonder if a one-victim emergency would benefit any more from so many vehicles and personnel responding to the scene than having a response from a few teams of emergency first-responders?

  Is it time to consider establishing a response protocol for such emergency scenarios? Just saying.

  • WSB August 6, 2015 (5:15 pm)

    Yes, “we do scramble an unlimited number of trucks to a house fire.” Often discussed in comments here. One explanation:
    .
    https://wsb.blackfin.biz/2014/08/fire-callout-in-westwood/#comment-1465543

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