MA Firefighters Thrown from Boat During Training

NORTH ANDOVER — Two firefighters were thrown from their aluminum boat Friday at Lake Cochichewick while training for emergencies.

After spending several minutes in the water hanging onto the side of a canoe that happened to be passing by, the firefighters were rescued by other North Andover firefighters who were also there for boat training.

Deputy Fire Chief Graham Rowe said he was on the shore at the water treatment plant with other firefighters about 11 a.m. Friday when they noticed the two men, who were far from shore, had run into trouble.

"We do monthly training on three different boats, and this particular boat was recently repaired," Rowe said. "Myself and the entire Station 2 (crew) watched them as they went out and we witnessed what happened."

He said the two firefighters were far from shore and were practicing making sharp turns when they were thrown from their boat, which continued to move away from them.

"We launched a second boat and went out to pick them up," Rowe said. "They both had on their life jackets and were hanging from the side of a canoe with two women and two children who were passing by at the time and stopped to assist."

Rowe said it was fortunate that no one was hurt and described the situation as a "great teachable moment."

"Everything we train for was put into play and worked as it should," he said. "The guys did a great job getting out there and the two in the boat did a great job taking care of themselves."

Rowe said it was discovered that the control handle of the boat's motor had broken. He said the motor was taken off the boat and is being evaluated.

The department's rescue boats are used on the town's many bodies of water, including at Harold Parker State Forest.

"We have bodies of water throughout the community," Rowe said.

———

©2020 The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Mass.)

Visit The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Mass.) at www.eagletribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.