24-foot Oquawka
to be outfitted
with equipment

By Mary Garrison
Tribune-Courier Features Editor
mgarrison@tribunecourier.com

MARSHALL COUNTY – It’s been a long time coming. The Marshall County Rescue Squad has gotten the return on a $62,000 Homeland Security grant and $2,000 contribution by the Marshall County Fiscal Court in the form of a new rescue boat capable of far more than the typical wares.

The 24-foot Oquawka rescue boat, built in Illinois, was delivered to the squad last week, and after being outfitted with side scan sonar equipment and the deeper capablity towfish sonar, the new vessel will be available for use.

Assistant rescue squad chief Tim Brinkley said the new sonar is just one advantage to the new boat. Brinkley said deeper sides allow for much safer use in rough waters, under circumstances when the craft would most likely be in use. And the enclosed, heated cabin provides for another advantage.

“We’ll be able to keep crews out there much longer,” Brinkley said. “On the other boat, you could only stay on the water about 30 minutes. With this one we’ll be able to work in eight-hour shifts.”

Prior to the acquisition of the Oquawka, the rescue squad had three watercraft; however, Brinkley said none were properly equipped to handle the conditions of rough waters.

“This rescue squad has come a long way in the last five years,” Brinkley recalled. “We used to have just this one [flat-bottomed john boat] and two old aluminum boats that I wouldn’t want to see out on the lake now.”

Unfortunately, tragedy was the driving force behind grant acquisition, Brinkley said. After the drowning of three teenage boys at Rocky Point in a boating accident in January 2009, the squad decided it needed something more in terms of search and recovery.

Brinkley said the squad assessed its needs and made specifications based on those needs last March.

In addition to the new boat, the squad has new equipment to install. Thanks to contributions from Benton Wal-Mart Supercenter and Woodmen of the World in the amount of some $30,000, the squad was able to purchase new sonar, as well.

“Technology has changed so much,” Brinkley said. “The days of us just throwing a drag in the water are over. With this, we can scan the area of an entire football field in seconds.”

It’s a welcomed addition in water search, he said. Brinkley recalled the latest drowning involving 69-year-old Robert Bramlett at Rocky Point in which a calculated search area of approximately three miles — from Rocky Point to Kentucky Dam — the field is extensive.

“We’re talking 5,000 square acres of water in that space,” Brinkley said. “That’s a lot of area to cover.”

And members of the 25-man squad are training to make certain they can do it efficiently, he said. Six volunteers will receive in depth training to make use of both the side-scan and towfish sonar equipment.

Brinkley also said rescue squads from three counties across the lake — Lyon, Livingston and Trigg — have recently been inducted into the same district as Marshall County’s volunteer squad.

“We’ve got a good working relationship together,” Brinkley said. “We’ll be working with them a lot over the summer to get everyone used to working with each other.”

Brinkley said this training will allow volunteers to be better prepared in a call for assistance across county lines in knowing what role they play in an operation.

And every role, Brinkley emphasized, is an important one.

The Marshall County Rescue Squad maintains a 25-man roster; however, Brinkley said the organization can have up to 30 volunteers. In an average year, Brinkley said active, involved volunteers will log approximately 200-300 hours of service. Anyone interested in joining the ranks must attend the first two meetings and fill out the appropriate paperwork before being placed on a one-year probationary period.

For more information about operations or joining the Rescue Squad, email mcrescuesquad_22@bellsouth.net.