The St. Johns County purchase occurred late last year, on the Commission's consent agenda for November 3, 2015, nine months to the day after my February 3, 2015 request (No. 2015-87: COSA, SAB, TOH, SJC and other local government use of GSA Cooperative Purchasing Program, Schedule 70 and 84 and Blanket Purchase Orders) asked local governments if they had ever used GSA's discounted schedule pricing for state and local governments.
Imagine, St. Johns County Commission following a money-saving purchasing suggestion.
Could other local governments be far behind?
What do y'all reckon?
St. Johns County Fire Rescue approved for grant, to get new rescue boat and dock
Posted: January 6, 2016 - 9:09pm | Updated: January 7, 2016 - 1:40am
By STUART KORFHAGE
stuart.korfhage@staugustine.com
In a move that is expected to add to the safety of boaters and swimmers in local waterways, St. Johns County Fire Rescue will soon add a new multipurpose boat to its small fleet.
The agency announced this week that is has been approved for a Department of Homeland Security-Federal Port Security Grant of $560,000 for the purchase of a fire rescue boat and construction of a multiagency public safety docking facility.
The grant provides $330,000 toward the purchase of the vessel and $230,000 toward the construction of the docking facility.
Actually, the grant provides just 75 percent of the cost of the boat and dock. Fire Rescue is responsible for providing a fourth of the cost ($82,500) for the boat. The cost share has been approved and budgeted as part of the current fiscal year 2016 budget cycle. The docking facility construction cost share of $60,000 has been funded by the St. Augustine Port, Waterway and Beach District.
Fire Rescue has ordered a 29-foot SAFE Boat, which is being manufactured at the SAFE Boat International facility in Bremerton, Washington. Upon completion, the vessel will be shipped to the county and placed into service late in the summer.
“Basically, we have never had a boat like this in the county that’s capable of performing both firefighting and rescue on our waters,” County fire chief Carl Shank said. “We don’t have anything that’s fully capable of meeting the demands that our (personnel face). This is really going to give them a great tool.”
Shank said his agency has been looking to add a rescue boat for years. Securing the federal grant was the ideal situation, though, because it presented the least amount of burden on the local government and allowed Fire Rescue to get exactly the boat it needed.
The new boat will be equipped to manage a “multitude of emergency operations” within the Intracoastal Waterway, the St. Augustine Inlet and offshore waters. Also, the fire rescue boat will be specifically designed to operate in rough sea conditions. Included on the vessel will be an on-board 500-gallon-per-minute pump for firefighting operations and a full complement of advanced life support medical response gear.
It will also have search-and-rescue electronics, including FLIR technology (thermal night vision), and hazardous materials detection/monitoring equipment.
“We put together a pretty significant bit of research,” Fire Rescue spokesman Jeremy Robshaw said. “We live in a very boating friendly community. People are on water a lot. We need to ensure there is appropriate protection in place.
“This vessel is a completely different asset compared to what the county had before.”
Robshaw said adding the new dock at Vilano Beach is also very significant. It will increase response time compared to having to transport a trailered boat to an area of need.
The site will house boats for the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in addition to the Fire Rescue boat.
The facility is adjacent to the St. Johns County boat ramp, which Robshaw said will allow quick access to the Intracoastal Waterway, mooring fields, major marinas and the St. Augustine Inlet. It will be covered, secure and provide three lifts for the respective vessels. This dock will be operated as joint facility by the three agencies.
Shank said there were 331 marine rescue missions inclusive of distressed vessels, missing swimmers or other emergencies on local waterways and beaches in 2015. In 2014, the county had 342 similar responses.
Robshaw and Shank both said the equipment and dock should make the local waterways safer.
“It’s something that was very much needed, something we hopefully have a lot of impact with,” Robshaw said.
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Recent high-profile marine rescue missions
■ April 14, 2009: Fire Rescue responded to an Easter Sunday boating accident on the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Valley. The collision occurred when a high-speed boat slammed into a 25-foot moored tugboat, which was constructing a dock at a private residence. After impact, five people were killed and nine were critically injured. Fire Rescue workers and bystanders spent critical time shuttling wood onto the unfinished dock in order to reach the boat and then extricate the injured and dead off the boat, over the tug, up to the unstable dock, and then to shore.
■ Nov. 30, 2010: A TowBoat US operator was swept into the ocean after his boat flipped while towing the sailing vessel “Finesse” near St. Augustine Inlet. Weather conditions consisted of northeast winds of more than 20 knots, air temperature in the 50s and water temperature in the 60s. Seas were higher than 6 feet with a swift outgoing tide. The U.S. Coast Guard received the initial call, with Fire Rescue units notified much later by a TV reporter. With help from a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office air unit, the towboat operator was found. County rescue swimmers transported him to shore. The operator was suffering from hypothermia. According to Fire Rescue, physicians at the receiving emergency department said that if the man had been rescued 15 minutes later, he most likely would have been in cardiac arrest from exposure.
■ Dec. 15, 2012: The 64-foot motor yacht “Rays the Bar” called in a distress signal after running aground on the St. Augustine Inlet north shoal. In heavy fog, moderate surf conditions and 50-degree temperatures, Fire rescue responded. During the rescue operations, the vessel broke free from the shoal and began to drift through the fog toward Vilano Beach. Crews were able to find the vessel and successfully remove both occupants and a dog. The vessel eventually grounded on Vilano Beach and was removed by commercial towing companies over the next several days.
■ Nov. 7, 2013: Two people were rescued from the St. Augustine Inlet after a 30-foot sailboat failed to function properly. Fire Rescue personnel, responding on personal watercraft and with assistance from Tow Boat US, removed the victims from the distressed vessel and transported them safely to shore.
■ Nov. 25, 2014: Fire Rescue personnel were dispatched to a 38-foot sailboat grounded on the north shoals of the St. Augustine Inlet. In addition to the darkness of the night, weather conditions included a heavy blowing rain, winds of 20 knots or more, 6- to 8-foot seas and poor visibility. Using PWC and an inflatable rescue boat, Fire Rescue workers removed the passengers. Because of the rescuers’ actions, they were awarded a Unit Commendation by Fire Rescue.
Source: SJCFR White Paper: Response to Marine Emergencies in St. Johns County
Homeland Security (DHS) has armed the St. John's County Sheriff's Office to the teeth with the type of artillery that was used in the ill-fated invasion of Iraq. Why would DHS do this? One only needs to look at the murder of an unarmed civilian like Michelle O'Connell to guess. The "War on Terror" is another War on the American people....
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