On August 8th around 9:30AM, after their boat capsized seven miles from shore on Lake Erie, stranded boaters called 911, where Erie County DPS triaged the call to the Coast Guard and dispatched fire rescue from Fairview Fire and Rescue, Lake Shore Fire Department, Fuller Hose Company, and City of Erie F.D.
On reception, Erie County DPS’s non-Prepared location technology placed the caller on shore. Prepared’s Phase 2 ALI gave the call-taker the actual coordinates of the boat in the water.
“If we did not have Prepared, then now you're saying, ‘Okay, somewhere north of this address on land, you're gonna be looking for a boat and the hull is the same color as the water, we hope you can find it.’ It makes the initial response that much more efficient,” said Deputy Director & 911 Coordinator John Durlin.
One boater sat atop the boat, two clung to the boat from the water, and another sat in an air pocket underneath the boat, none were equipped with life jackets. Even in August, with water temperatures hovering around 70 degrees, Durlin says the boaters were at risk of developing hypothermia if their rescue was delayed or slow.
In the 41 minutes between call and first arrival of rescue personnel, the boat drifted an additional two miles ashore. With time of the essence, the Coast Guard deployed a rescue helicopter and a specialized rescue diver to recover the victim underneath the boat.
As the call was transferred to the Coast Guard, Erie County was able to track the boat’s drifting location using Prepared’s location breadcrumbs. Further, using Prepared’s Assistive Dispatch, which transcribes every talk group & channel, Erie’s telecommunicators were able to track every word of every transmission, referring back to old transmissions as needed.
“Being able to see the words at the same time you're hearing it just makes those things kind of connect in your brain. Even though you didn't necessarily hear what they said, you could understand,” said Durlin.
By just after 11AM, all victims were safely rescued and no injuries were reported.
“From our point of view, Prepared is helping get the rescuers to the boat...it’s just another one of those tools that allows you to do this job more efficiently.”
Incredible work by Erie’s telecommunicators, the Coast Guard, and firefighters!
