Tuesday, August 31, 1999
Cruisers add flotation device
BY TERRY FLYNN and JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — Boone County police officers now carry flotation devices to help save victims of river wrecks.
Prompted by an increase in traffic on the Ohio River and a two-boat wreck two weeks ago that killed three boaters, the department bought ResQ Discs, Frisbee-like devices that can be thrown from the shoreline to people in the water.
Attached is a 125-foot line the officer can use to reel the person to safety.
The department wanted something practical and portable that will help its more than 50 officers better keep track of the county's 43-mile stretch of river, said Capt. Jack Prindle.
Police officers can arrive at a reported wreck or drowning more quickly than the county's water rescue boat, he said, and therefore needed some rescue equipment to help them respond.
“I've got mine in my trunk,” he said. “When you need it, it's invaluable.”
Dale Appel, Boone County Water Rescue's captain, welcomed the help. The agency actually advises departments to buy such devices, which can be used for ice rescues too, he said.
Water rescue personnel use something similar called a rope bag.
“You can change the atmosphere,” Capt. Appel said. “It can be 100 percent rescue as opposed to a recovery operation, just by being able to react immediately.”
The county spent drug-forfeiture money on the discs, valued at $39.95.
Officers had been talking about getting some kind of rescue equipment, an idea that was driven home Aug. 16 when two boats wrecked near Watertown Yacht Club in Dayton. Three people died in that wreck, which remains under investigation by the state water patrol.
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