LYNN — A routine job of docking the Lynn Fire Department’s new rescue boat at Seaport Landing on Tuesday afternoon quickly turned into a test run for the young vessel.
About 20 minutes after Lynn firefighters and the assistant harbormaster put the new Fire Department boat, “The Rocky B,” into the water, the department received a call for a man in the water at Seaport Landing, who was being helped by an off-duty firefighter, District Fire Chief Joseph Zukas said.
Zukas said he had just left from docking the boat when he was alerted to the call at 3:39 p.m. He and other firefighters had departed from Seaport Landing, but Capt. Ed Miles, who sponsors the department’s boat program, had remained behind to finish tying up the boat, he said.
Miles was working, Zukas clarified, but was mistaken for being off-duty due to the jacket he was wearing.
It appears that the man who fell in the water was intoxicated, Zukas said. He said the man, who is in his 40s and may be homeless, was confused and speaking incoherently. Miles was tying up the boat when he heard yelling, and saw bystanders trying to help the man out of the water, Zukas said.
“It all happened quick,” said Zukas. “Bystanders were in the process of pulling him up when he got there.”
After the man was pulled out of the water, Miles, who is an EMT, helped perform a medical evaluation, and talked him into going to the hospital. Zukas said the man was suffering from hypothermia, although it’s unclear if this was caused by the cold water temperature — which was 52 degrees Fahrenheit — or something else.
The man was confused, Zukas said, and told first responders he was in the water for 15 to 20 minutes. Why he went into the water also remains unclear, Zukas said.
“All we know is that he’s safe,” he said. “If nobody found him, it could have been more serious.”
If bystanders had not pulled the man out of the water, he could have died of hypothermia, Zukas said. Also helpful, he said, was the immediate medical assistance that was provided due to Miles being nearby when the incident occurred.
“Hopefully it was a good save,” said Zukas. “It could have been a lot worse. If there (weren’t) people down there working like we were, who knows what could have happened?”
The Fire Department’s boat program runs from April to December 1. The boat docked on Tuesday will be used for water rescues, such as assisting boaters and helping anyone who is in the water, Zukas said.
“I guess you could say it was the first save by The Rocky B,” said Zukas.
