Firefighters Perform an Extrication and Water Rescue in Kennebunkport, Maine

At noon on Saturday, February 19, 2005, Kennebunkport Fire Service and Kennebunkport EMS were dispatched to a reported vehicle going off of the Dyke Road at Goose Rocks Beach and into a marsh area. First arriving units found a badly damaged vehicle on its side with its driver trapped and partially submerged in the Batson River, a section of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.

Kennebunkport Engine 33, carrying extrication equipment and Mustang water rescue suits from the Goose Rocks Beach Fire Company, arrived on scene in approximately four minutes. Twenty-five firefighters from the four Kennebunkport volunteer fire companies and the ambulance and EMS personnel from KEMS converged on the scene shortly after. A mutual aid request was also made for the Heavy Rescue Squad from neighboring Biddeford Fire in the event that additional extrication or stabilization equipment might be needed.

Firefighters from the Extrication Team donned water rescue suits, entered the ice-filled river and utilized the Jaws and hand tools to free the driver in approximately 10 minutes. The driver appeared to suffer only minor injuries, and he declined ambulance transport to the hospital. It was observed that had the accident occurred at the time of high tide, it may well have had a tragic outcome.

Attention was then turned to the oil and gasoline leaking from the vehicle, and firefighters deployed pollution containment booms across the river at the request of Maine DEP. Firefighters stood by while a wrecker removed the vehicle from the river and used absorbent pads to clean up additional spilled oil in the environmentally sensitive area.

The vehicle involved in the accident, a late model Chevy Blazer, was reportedly a rental car. There is no word on whether or not the driver was able to get back his deposit!