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The efforts to rescue a woman stranded for almost four hours Sunday night on a small island in the Palo Alto baylands underscored the fact that the Palo Alto Fire Department’s water-rescue capability has lapsed, Fire Chief Nick Marinaro said.
While Palo Alto had a joint water rescue program with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District more than a decade ago, “Palo Alto doesn’t have a viable water rescue program now,” Marinaro said.
When Palo Alto firefighters couldn’t wade out to the stranded woman because the mud was too soft and too deep, attempts to use a small boat and then a canoe failed because the water was too shallow.
Palo Alto fire does have a rigid-hull inflatable boat but it needs 6-to-8 feet of water to be launched, Marinaro said.
When Palo Alto firefighters couldn’t reach the woman, the Menlo Park Fire Protection District was called. It has an 18-foot “airboat” which has an air propeller and can go through swamps and shallow water and can even be propelled on dry land, Marinaro said.
But the Menlo Park airboat had a problem with its starter and fire crews couldn’t get it going, Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said.
At that point, a call was made for a Coast Guard helicopter, which was able to rescue the woman, who was unhurt.
Afterwards, Marinaro said he couldn’t figure out how the woman got out to the small island off San Antonio Road. “She apparently went off the beaten path,” he said. “We need to get signage out there about high tides.”
The current situation, Marinaro added, is that Palo Alto fire calls Menlo Park fire for assistance in water rescues, because that department has the appropriate boat and firefighters who have remained current in the certification as rescue swimmers.
By Don Kazak
This has been a problem for many years, And still same old story.
The program was started after one more person got stuck in the mud. That time a Pilot in a downed plane.
The firefighter had to rescue themselves. The program that was put into place. HAD problems from day one, COMMON sense problems. boats need water. Many of us said give us the air boat, give us both. This program never worked. Still it was funded for many years. Huge amounts of money wasted for years. Then cut it. It does not work anyway.
So back to the same old place,however, lots of money wasted, firefighters who laugh at their leaders and lose all respect for them. Have to risk their own careers SO THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP A STRANDED person out of the mud.
Wow you have an excuse for this. This sounds like. The foothills fire plan.
What have you been doing. Maybe if you had less misleading to do and fewer cover ups to think up.
YOU MIGHT HAVE TIME TO DO THESE THINGS, they are not going anywhere. They have been problems for years.
NOw PLEASE do not ask for MONEY, more money or any money.
YOU HAVE GOTTEN WAY TOO MUCH AND LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID WITH IT>
You have wasted so much money and you have the nerve to look the public in the eye? And what you tell them?
Enough PLEASE. enough with the stories and lies. Don’t you every get tired of the stories you must tell, to explain your failures and reasons for letting the citizens down.
Do you think you even know the truth. Please tell me you do. I can understand a liar . I can not understand someone so blind and feeling less, unable to see what really is going on.
Please stop with the stories and try telling the truth.
Maybe we should actually be thanking this woman (instead of charging her as suggested on another thread) because her need for rescue, particularly as she was uninjured, has given PAFD a dry run (for want of a better phrase) practice to show just how inadequate the equipment around here is. I hope that the equipment gets sorted out before the next time it is needed when perhaps we are talking about really cold temperatures and serious injuries making time more crucial.
I’m not actually sure investing in the resources to fund a water rescue program would be a good use of funds, given the fact that there are so few water rescues every year. If we were in a city with rapids, an extensive shoreline and constant flash floods then by all means we should have one, but as it stands we don’t – the vast majority of emergencies that call out the fire department in the city are medical calls – shouldn’t we put funds to upgrade/augment PAFD’s medical capabilities from which the most residents will benefit from?
The coast guard has their bases covered, and we’re lucky enough that Menlo fire has a good program going, so should PA taxpayers really fork over the money to duplicate tasks which others are doing well already?
I would rather see another ambulance and more fire medics than have a boat…
A 4 passenger hovercraft with standard rescue equipment costs in the 40-50K range, and rescue swimmer certs seems unnecessary. This is chump change for a needed ability. I would accept a voluntary dollar a month surcharge on my utility bill to fund this.
Mr Wallis. 20+ times that amount has already gone into this program.
And much more hard work and effort, FROM FIREFIGHTERS who really CARE.
Kind of explains why/how the GOOD Times$$$$ , Have turned into bad times $ bailouts $ cover ups $ NO FUNDING for services.
From day one THE FIREFIGHTER asked to have a simple program that works, That does not need or have to count on someone else to provide the service, THE CITY OF PALO ALTO spent your money on.
We asked just get a little hovercraft at that time about 28K, look what the LEADERS did to that program. Sorry if it makes me sick.
Much of what you say is true. Menlo Park does a much better job thenthe City of Palo Alto with much,much less.
Jim someone needs to give you the correct information on the whole program. Real,true information and history.
For all the money in this program, it got down to no one can work with the CITY of Palo Alto, just out to lunch. The program would have served more and better, If one simple thing, Menlo Has the harbor and the water, GIVE THEM THE BOAT, Palo Alo has mud, GIVE THEM THE AIR boat.
That is really hard to figure out? And you pay who ,how much to not be able to figure that one out?
Now you run a business like this CITY, TO YOU KEEP PEOPLE like this WORKING for you. SPENDING YOUR MONEY, PROMISING to help you when you call?
Sounds like? A wing and a wish. keep those fingers crossed
This is just one more example of the incompetent stewardship of the system in Palo Alto. Chasing moonbeams must have a powerful appeal, especially for those disinterested in or uninformed about the real world.