A capsized boat or fire out on the water takes a whole different set of skills for first responders accustomed to traffic accidents and house fires. Wiscasset firefighters found that out during a water rescue training on the town's waterfront in the early evening August 22.

Several firefighters have trained in water rescue before, but as one member of the department put it, practice is important. They also wanted to practice using the harbormaster boat. 

Harbormaster Dan Bradford met with a crew of about 10 from the Wiscasset Fire Department. He said it would be an exploratory exercise on how to get an unresponsive person safely out of the water and how to respond to other water-related emergencies. 

It was also a fact-finding mission to identify what equipment they have on hand and what additional equipment first responders need for the future. 

Bradford, who started as harbormaster this July, said he plans to collaborate with firefighters more in the future. He wants to share the harbormaster boat and other equipment and to effectively communicate in preparation for water-related emergencies.

The fire department already has a 12-foot inflatable skiff and a backboard to retrieve accident victims out of the water. But hauling someone who has been knocked unconscious out of the cold ocean water and into a larger boat is very difficult.

Matt Sinclair, a water recovery specialist with the Marine Patrol, agrees. He said lifting an unconscious person out of the water requires a lot of muscle power. First responders have an additional challenge working in thick survival suits, called Gumby suits after the claymation children’s television character, that protect them from the icy water and help keep them afloat.