Freeport firefighters are ready to hit the water

FREEPORT - The next time city firefighters pluck a swimmer in distress from Choctawhatchee Bay, a thank-you note to Marina Village owner and developer James Massey is in order.
   
Within 24 hours of finding out the Freeport Fire Department wanted to buy a water-rescue boat, Massey donated $35,000 on behalf of Marina Village, said Fire Chief Ben Greenslait.
   
That money was used to purchase a nine-year-old boat, life jackets and rescue equipment. A company then was hired to pick up the vessel in New York.
   
The 12-foot Mercury Sport Jet may be small, but it can reach speeds of up to 60 mph. It's equipped with navigation lights, retractable boarding steps, a deck for diving and patient loading, and a winch for stretcher loading. The boat also has a 32-gallon tank with a load capacity of 2,100 pounds and can carry seven passengers.
   
"Most people (who see it) can't believe what they're looking at," Greenslait said. "People say it looks like a jet ski or something from that California ‘Baywatch' television show. They're excited that the city has something like this to offer the citizens, and they ask why it's taken so long to get something like this."
   
He said it will be used for distress calls and marina and boat fires. It's expected to be ready for the water within a week. The boat will also be available to other fire and police departments and emergency medical crews.
   
Greenslait said the closest water-rescue vessels are 40 to 45 minutes away by water, near the U.S. Highway 331 bridge. The new boat is the only one north of the bay.
   
There were five waterrescue calls this year in Freeport, but the fire department either had to borrow boats or wait for sheriff's deputies to arrive, he said.
   
For example, when brothers Lucas and Logan Alford disappeared in Choctawhatchee Bay on June 22, firefighters would have helped deputies and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with the search. But they had no way of getting out in the bay.
   
Searchers recovered the brothers' bodies the following day.
   
The rescue boat is the second one Freeport firefighters have obtained.
   
Former Walton County Commissioner candidate Alan Osborne donated a 19-foot Boston Whaler dive boat, Greenslait said, and the department is assembling a dive team to go out on rescue calls.
   
"We needed to put together a water team and make sure the people in Walton County are protected," he said, adding that the closest such team is in Okaloosa County.
   
The Fire Department now has three certified scuba divers. Greenslait also is asking certified scuba divers who live in the area to volunteer their time and skills.
   
Freeport is trying to grow, he said, "but it's the economy that's slowing everything down. So when you have people (like Mr. Massey) who want to step up and help us, I just think it's outstanding."