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| Fire Dept’s Tested By Tragedy 3/19/2008 Fire Dept’s Tested By Tragedy
 FIRST RESPONDERS including a deputy and NLF&R surfwater rescuers arrive at Gleneden Beach State Park on March 8.
 DEPOE BAY FIRE CHIEF Josh Williams took command of the rescue
operation, which included back-to-back beach emergencies. On a bright, sunny Saturday, March 8, two young boys lost their lives at the most dangerous beach in Oregon as they played near a booming surf. Two fire departments, from Depoe Bay and Lincoln City, and the U.S. Coast Guard began to pour in to the Gleneden Beach State Park scene within eight minutes of the 9-1-1 alert and threw their best efforts into the rescue attempt but came up short. Trying to penetrate a 10-ft. wall of emerald ocean that would crash down and explode against the steep beach, firefighters in drysuits and PFDs were tossed violently backwards like corks. Jet skis, dwarfed by the beach break, could not be launched. A helicopter and rescue boat arrived seconds too late. Beach access was difficult, and some emergency vehicles got stuck. Ocean conditions, pushed by a winter storm, could not have been much worse, pushing the boys to within a few feet, then hauling them back into a deep trough between breakers just 15 yards from the beach. Already stretched to the limit, Depoe Bay Fire Dist. and the U.S. Coast Guard were called on an hour into the drama to divide their thin forces and race to Otter Rock, where a surfer had been caught in the rip tide and had nearly drowned. There, he was saved by other surfers and brought back from severe hypothermia by first aid from an EMS ambulance worker. The firefighters, EMTs, ambulance personnel, state police, deputies and U.S. Coast Guard personnel who rushed to these scenes are dealing with grief, remorse and deep frustration. As Chief Joshua Williams of DBFD said, “There’s a lot of raw emotion right now. This was one of the moments that defines a firefighter’s career. It’s the type of incident that can push some over the edge.” In fact, the children were probably doomed the moment they were sucked into the 40-degree water. Only the heroic presence of a surfer or a trained rescue swimmer, on the scene within seconds, could have prevented the quick deaths of the two boys with much risk to the rescuer. Last year, at the same Gleneden Beach location, two little old ladies ignored a warning by Depoe Bay firefighters to leave the beach and were swept to their deaths by a surprise wave. To underscore how fickle the ocean is at this location, a family of three was grabbed by a sneaker wave two years ago at the state park, then dropped back on the beach unharmed by the very next wave. The public can be assured that our fire departments and U.S. Coast Guard will undergo tremendous self-analysis, though in fact they were dealt an impossible hand. Gleneden Beach beckons the unwary with eight miles of uninterrupted beauty. At its best, it is an ocean playground for beachcombers and surfers. At its worst, it is unmerciful. We pray the broken hearts of the victims’ families will mend. And God Bless our first responders, whose hearts are also heavy. Author Name Staff - news@depoebaybeacon.com |
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