Marine Rescue is on a mission in Flagler County waters

Meet the highly trained water experts of Flagler County Fire Rescue.

By Observer Staff
| 8:30 p.m. July 11, 2016

Photo by Bob Vreeland

Photo by Chip Carey

Photo by Joe Campanellie

Photo by Kathy Carey

Palm Coast Observer
News

Carol Kines

Contributing Writer

From the stiletto-sharp oyster beds submerged beneath the murky traffic-congested Intracoastal Waterway to the choppy Atlantic Ocean and inland lakes, the highly trained specialists of the Marine Rescue Division of Flagler County Fire Rescue are summoned for rescues.

The field training officer for this division is Ivan Grant, who oversees rescue by longboard, jet-ski and helicopter.

First responders like Flagler County Fire Rescue Lt. Jason Forte and his crew navigate jet skis outfitted with water sleds during difficult-access rescues.

Lead Flight Medic Roy Longo is specially certified as air crew, combining medical proficiency in tight spaces, understanding the medical complications of high altitude flight and occasionally while using infrared goggles during nighttime rescues.

Air Rescue Swimmer Bill Kerek perches in swim fins, wetsuit and rescue gear on the edge of the helicopter’s open cockpit, then plunges through the torrential downdraft caused by the spinning blades into the choppy ocean waters for the rescue.

Together these heroes can pluck a victim from the waters and deposit them safely on shore.

SIDEBAR: Who’s flying that chopper?

Flagler County Fire Rescue pilot Dana Morris flies an airbus A-Star AS350B3 helicopter and has logged over 11,000 hazardous-duty flight hours, from low-altitude firefighting to skirting the sheer cliffs of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park. He has landed his helicopter at 14,000 feet onto Mount Whitney for a rescue.

“Dana is phenomenal,” Forte says. “He can hover at 15 feet above rough seas, drop in a rescue swimmer, and hit a dime with a long line while hanging half out of the helicopter to keep a visual on the rescuers.”