The following is written by journalism student Luke Ettinger, of Kennetcook.
WALTON SHORE: The Walton Shore Fire Department wants to purchase a rescue watercraft to improve response time for emergencies in local waters but has run into some obstacles funding the project.
Fire Chief Danny Patterson says Walton Shore fire has received seven calls for rescues in the Minas Basin part of the Bay of Fundy over the past three years. He says the calls have consisted of overturned watercraft and tourists being trapped on beaches by incoming tides.
Patterson says the fire department has been looking to purchase the rescue watercraft for emergencies in the Bay of Fundy since 2017.
“People who do not know the waters of the Bay of Fundy and how they actually work and change have no idea what they are up against,” Patterson says.
David Lake, deputy chief at Walton Shore fire, says the strong currents and undertow in the Bay of Fundy are a concern for him. Lake says he has seen boats on the water during 70 km/h winds adding “You’ll see them going out there when there is no absolute way they should.”
Lake says the rescue watercraft is a necessity to prevent fatalities in the local waters and he hopes funding comes soon.
“What’s more important lives – or the money,” he says.
Patterson says the cost of one boat, training, storage, transporting it and marine communications equipment is estimated at $120,000. That is our biggest obstacle right now is funding,” he says
Wayne Greene, Noel and District Fire Department Fire Chief, says his department has agreed to help fund the project.
“We’re driving some of the traffic there through tourism and I’m putting forth to council to try and find a way to help finance the craft and the training,” says Greene, who is also a local councillor representing Walton-Noel-Kennetcook in the Municipality of East Hants.
Patterson says financing the project is challenging. One third of Walton Shore fire’s operational funding comes from fundraising and donations. Pandemic restrictions have cancelled in-person fundraisers and meant lost revenue for the volunteer fire department.
“We are giving to the community the most valuable thing in life, which is our time,” says Lake. “We should be at least be provided with the equipment to protect the community,” he says.
Patterson says it took over one hour for a rescue watercraft and helicopter to arrive on scene for an overturned boat in August 2017. The closest rescue watercraft to Walton, N.S. is owned by Summerville and District Fire Department.
The fire department in Summerville, N.S. purchased a rescue watercraft in 2008. Fire Chief Chris Spencer says the need was highlighted during a meeting with a local politician in 2007.
During a meeting with MLA for Hants West Chuck Porter the fire department received a call for a water rescue says Spencer. In that instance there was no rescue watercraft and Spencer swam through white caps to rescue a man whose boat capsized.
“I nearly drowned,” said Spencer. “It spoke to a need to better equipped,” he says.
Porter says he worked with the provincial government to secure funding for a rescue watercraft in Summerville.
“Every minute counts when you’re talking about any kind of rescue,” says Porter.
Time is also a concern for Lake. He says a rescue watercraft owned by Walton Shore fire would provide a faster response time for water emergencies in the Minas Basin.
Amanda Taylor would also like to see a rescue watercraft in Walton. She uses a small boat to fish flounder and bass during the warmer months.
Taylor says there are more than 50 vessels on the water near Walton on an average summer weekend.
“Every year we see multiple different occasions where we watch the rescues happen,” says Taylor. “We have no access to easily rescue anyone,” she says.
In addition to a watercraft, Taylor would like to see a public boat launch in Walton to provide easy access to the water in emergencies but also to provide better access for recreational vessels.
Lake says WSFD can launch a rescue watercraft without a public boat launch, but it would make getting into the water easier.
Municipality of East Hants staff are aware of the two proposed projects in Walton.
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Kate Friars says Councillor Greene asked municipality staff to look at the possibility of a public boat launch in the local area.
Friars says she met with Danny Patterson and Wayne Greene about the proposed rescue watercraft in August.
Friars says she is working with the fire department to develop “an actual ask for the municipality with a dollar value that would be considered as part of the budget process.” She says a decision on the rescue watercraft will be up to council.
She said it is too early to say if a rescue watercraft will be in Walton before spring 2021.
- Luke Ettinger is studying journalism at university.
