In the middle of a violent bomb cyclone storm, the Vancouver fire department squad reached the dock on the Columbia River on Tuesday.
Their task was to save a man who was stranded aboard a 32-foot sailboat with his year-old pet. Although the boat was partially secured to the pier, the man and dog were unable to jump to the dock because of the long rope that separated the two vessels. There was little chance of bringing the boat closer because of the strong gusts.
Battalion Chief Goeff Robbins of the Vancouver Fire Department told The Oregonian/OregonLive, “I was worried about the person we were going to rescue.” I had never seen the river in such terrible circumstances.
Before realizing it wouldn’t work, firefighters attempted to contact the man via the dock. The dock was too shaky, pushed back and forth by the storm. The rescue boat would have to be brought in.
Captain Jesse Martin said that waves were smashing over the dock. Before I went out on the dock, I was a little anxious. I believed it might disintegrate at any time.
Because of the heavy gusts and the pounding waves, Martin said it was challenging for the crew of a fire department boat to get to within a few feet of the sailboat.
However, the fireboat remained in place long enough for a rescue swimmer to make the short jump from the fireboat to the sailboat. According to Martin, he then assisted the man and his dog in jumping to the fireboat’s safety.
Robbins went on to say that the swimmer had to entice the man on the sailboat—whose name has not been made public—out of the cabin in order to bring him to safety since he was so terrified. During the rescue, Martin added, the dog, a 40-pound terrier mix, was attempting to shake out of the arms of the fire department swimmer.
Martin remarked of the rescue crew, “They train a lot on that boat and put a lot of work into it.” Simply put, I’m rather proud of what those people accomplished.
Crime, public safety, and local news are all topics covered by breaking news reporter Tatum Todd. You can contact them at 503-221-4313 or [email protected].
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