Jetty Drill 2014

As the summer season gets started the need for a coordinated response for any emergency’s happening on the jetty was full filled Thursday as the dive team held a drill for the life guards and the first aiders. This is a drill the team try’s to hold every year to keep everyone’s skills sharp.

    It starts out with going over search techniques for looking a lost person in the jacks, the jacks at the end of the jetty is a popular spot for fishermen. But people don’t know how dangerous they are. It is very slippery and many deep holes that you can fall into and not be seen from above and that is why we need to have these drills. So everyone can get use to working in a confined space.

   The life guards and the first aider’s were put in team of three and four and told to search the jacks. All the scenarios were based on past events that have happened on the jetty. One just a few years ago when two cousins came down to the jetty to see what a hurricane looked like and got washed off the jetty. They were recovered the next day using the same search techniques that were being used in today’s drill.

Prior post on the Irene Incident here...

   Once the victims were found the first aiders took over and got the victim ready to be lifted out the jacks. With the life guards and first aiders working together  the victim were put on back boards and strapped down and moved out to where they could be lifted up to the top of the jetty and moved to the ambulances.

   It’s not always easy! One victim was so well hidden that it took thirty five minutes find and recover her.

New Jersey TV-12 was also on the jetty for the drill and was able to obtain some great shots and nice footage for a News special that ran that day....

  With the victims found and the sun slowly going down it was time to end the drill. The life guards, first aiders and the dive team are ready for whatever the season brings. Hopefully we will not have to put this training to the test, but we will be ready if we have to!

Chief Dive Chet Nesley

Joint Training for Jetty Rescue with Point First-Aid and Life Guards....

TV-12 had coverage of the joint training session held with the Dive Team, Point Pleasant Beach First-Aid, and the Life Guard service. This joint training happens every year and is essential for coordinated response in this very popular area....

Video and full report here...

Jetty Training ~2014~

Sunday was the dive teams June drill and we hit the inlet jetty for more rescue work. Today it was getting down inside the jetty and searching for lost victims. If you have never looked at the jetty and the jacks at the end, you would have no idea how many holes and open spaces there are down inside the jetty. You could hide a whole baseball team down there and never see them from above. So the only way to search is to get down inside and start looking.

    The team does this drill every year with the first aid and the life guards and to keep the teams skill sharp. We have had many calls to the jetty for fishermen fall down inside and people falling from walking on the jacks and body recovery’s.

    This drill we had Lisa from the Middletown twp dive team with us along on the drill. She was down to see how we operate and how we get things done. She got to see firsthand how we got down inside the jetty and did our search, she got down inside the jetty and searched over 100 feet and never could be seen from above.

   We also did some water work after searching of the jetty. It looks to be a long season and the team needs to be ready for anything. It not even summer yet and the team has had a few call on the beach already.