By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
It is a rescue boat that has needed some rescuing of its own.
At one point, it sank.
In 2020, it was given an $18,000 refurbishment to bring it back into service.
Now, Sea Isle City is about to get rid of the 26-foot fire and police rescue boat by using it as a trade-in for a used fire department vehicle.
City Council is expected at its meeting Tuesday to approve a resolution designating the rescue boat as surplus property because it is “no longer needed.”
Sea Isle plans to use the 2009 boat as a trade-in for a “fully upfitted” 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe command unit vehicle.
Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus, a fire department equipment supplier based in Alabama, has offered to take the rescue boat as a swap for the Tahoe, according to the Council resolution.
The boat is painted fire engine red. Normally, it is docked at the city’s public marina, but it was parked on top of a trailer next to City Hall on Friday.
Police Chief Anthony Garreffi, who oversees Sea Isle’s public safety, explained that the boat is undergoing maintenance before it is sold.
“We’re trying to fix it,” he said. “We’re trying to sell it.”
Mayor Leonard Desiderio said Cape May County bought the rescue boat for the city. The cost wasn’t immediately available.
Used by both the fire and police departments, the boat is equipped to rescue divers and boaters. It also fights boat fires with the capacity to pump 700 gallons of water per minute, Sea Isle’s then-Fire Chief John Mazurie said during a January 2021 interview about the vessel. Sea Isle’s Fully Refurbished Fire Boat Ready For Rescues | Sea Isle News
Three firefighters are typically aboard. They are trained in emergency water rescues, which include knowing how to safely remove victims from the water and vessels. An EMT also goes out on the calls, Mazurie said.
He noted that the boat was once used to rescue an 80-year-old man whose own boat had become stuck during low tide. Firefighters made several other rescues using the boat, according to Mazurie.
The boat’s history, however, has not always been glorious.
“It sank a couple of years ago,” Garreffi said.
Because the boat is kept in the water year-round, it is exposed to harsh elements, such as storms and salt water, and becomes deteriorated.
In 2020, the fire department and the city reached an agreement in which the city paid $18,000 to refurbish the boat to bring it back into full working order, Mazurie said.
At that time, it was in need of new parts, including a case to protect the motor, he said.
