Benicia Fire Chief Jim Lydon wants a boat. But this boat wouldn’t be used for pleasure. It would help rescue those who found themselves in trouble along and beyond Benicia’s 15 miles of shoreline.

At today’s meeting, Lydon will tell the City Council he’s found a grant that would let him bid for the boat and other life-saving equipment — $18,940 in all. Should he be successful in getting the Council’s approval, he said his department also could afford the $5,000 in annual operating and maintenance costs associated with the boat.

In a report Lydon sent Dec. 10 to City Manager Brad Kilger, the fire chief said the boat would be a 15-foot inflatable, powered by an outboard motor.

The purchase, he wrote, would help his department improve public service and maintain “a high level of preparedness for emergencies.” Having such a boat on hand and ready to launch “minimizes risk within the community,” he wrote.

Benicia is on the Carquinez Strait, a navigable waterway that is used commercially as well as for recreation activities, he wrote. Within the city limits are multiple boat launches, many open to the public, he wrote.
In addition, the city has a public marina, and Benicia is a popular fishing site.

Lydon wrote that people use personal watercraft of all types.

“In addition, the accessibility to the waterway, afforded by the many miles of shoreline,allows for the easy launching of personal devices such as kite boards, paddle boards, kayaks, etc.,” he wrote.

“The city’s Urban Waterfront Enhancement and Master Plan, adopted Oct. 2014, seeks to further expand the access and use at the Benicia shoreline for such activities,” he wrote.

“This high level of use, in particular by personal crafts, coupled with the strong winds and currents, often times leads to distress calls requiring intervention,” he explained.

Benicia Fire Department often is called to help rescue those “in distress in the waterway,” he wrote.
Sometimes, the department employees determine no real emergency exists. But other times, victims need the department’s aid.
In addition to recreation use, the Strait also is a waterway for large commercial ships that carry a variety of commodities to and from Benicia and upstream communities, he wrote.

“The Benicia Fire Department serves as an all-risk department that responds to a variety of emergency incidents,” Lydon wrote. “Our personnel are trained for operations involving firefighting, hazardous materials, technical rescue and emergency medicine.”

During the past two years, the department’s employees also have been trained in water rescue, he wrote. But currently, the department is limited to observing an incident, and can’t conduct rescues beyond 30 feet of the shoreline. For other rescues, the department has to call for outside help from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, Contra Costa agencies or American Canyon Fire Department.

Those agencies can take what Lydon called “an extended time” to arrive, leading to “devastating outcomes for victims in the water,” he wrote. Sometimes, the needed services from those agencies haven’t been available, he wrote.

The Coast Guard promises to be ready to deploy within 30 minutes and to arrive no later than two hours after getting a call, he wrote. Nor does the Coast Guard have a rescue swimmer on board its boats.

“The acquisition of a small rescue boat will provide us with an additional tool to be able to effectively operate during those incidents involving an emergency in the waterway along our shores,” he wrote.

Lydon wrote that he doesn’t have exact numbers of water-related incidents, but indicated several near-misses that have happened offshore.

“Since January of 2012, we have been directly involved with seven specific water-related incidents,” he wrote. Most recently was a call to help a family, including an infant, in two small vessels that were pulled ashore by the Coast Guard. The family then was taken to the launch at West Ninth Street so they could receive medical attention.

“Having our own water rescue capabilities will improve the response time to an incident, and the initiation of medical treatment by paramedics,” he wrote.

The boat also could be used by Benicia Police and for access to Lake Herman, he wrote. It also could be deployed to areas of the city that have been affected by flooding, he wrote.

This isn’t the first time the Council has heard such requests. The panel discussed acquiring a fire suppression and water rescue boat in 2007, and that year it was made a top 10 Strategic Plan matter.

The Council earmarked $20,000 in 2007 for startup costs and another $40,000 in 2008 for operations. However, no money was allocated for the boat, expected then to cost $160,000 for a used boat or $250,000 for a new vessel, because the Council expected the money would come through donations that didn’t materialize.

Since then, the city’s priorities changed from having a craft capable of both marine firefighting and rescue capabilities to one focused on water rescue, Lydon wrote.

By 2012, developing water rescue capabilities became a second tier, or moderate, priority that could be accomplished should a funding source become available, Lydon wrote.

However, about a third of Benicia’s firefighters have continued training in water rescue, based on National Fire Protection Association’s standards and the state fire marshal’s curriculum, including small boat operations.

Meanwhile, the department has been searching for grants, despite being turned down in 2012 by the Fireman’s Fund Heritage Program and Homeland Security’s grants program, and being unable to seek a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant for the boat, because another equipment grant request had been made.

But in 2014, several residents employed by the Fireman’s Fund offered to help the city apply for another grant, “We were notified in September that their efforts were successful in securing funding for our project,” Lydon wrote.

Should the Council concur with Lydon’s request, and as soon as the water rescue program is operational, the Benicia Fire Department will notify the U.S. Coast Guard, which has a station in Vallejo.

As more people find out about the program, Lydon wrote, it’s likely the city will see even more requests for rescue and help. “A local business that supports various water activities indicated that they are often contacted when there is someone in distress,” Lydon wrote. “In the future, we may be contacted for assistance instead.”

The department also may be asked to assist on a standby basis at special community events, he wrote. Because of the costs associated with such participation, Lydon wrote, he’s recommending those costs be passed on to organizers, “a common practice.”

Lydon wrote that some have suggested the program should be staffed with volunteers from other agencies as well as Benicia. He explained that would be suitable for search and rescue (SAR) operations, but not one that would include emergency rescue and life support, which is the type of program he wants to see at Benicia Fire Department.

However, he wrote, it could be possible to incorporate volunteers in the city’s water rescue program.

“It is the department’s belief that there is a certain level of expectation from the community that Benicia have a highly capable water rescue and life support program, given the amount of waterfront within the city’s boundaries,” he wrote.

If you go:
The Council will meet at 6 p.m. Jan. 6 to consider labor and personnel matters. The regular meeting will start at 7 p.m. today in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 250 East L St.