Chief Kenneth Richards, Jr., Old Mystic Fire Department, stands next to one of the rescue trucks at the fire deparment. He is proud of his squad for helping to rescue a 17-year-old boy who accidently buried himself at East Beach, Charlestown, RI.
story & photo
by Christopher Annino
Under the devote leadership of Chief Kenneth Richards, Jr., the Old Mystic Fire Department (OMFD) is known as always being prepared.
On August 25th, the OMFD’s knowledge and skills were tested when they received an urgent 911 call. A 17-year-old boy from Scotland, CT, accidentally buried himself at East Beach, Charlestown, RI.
“A lot of times the trench rescue can be fatal. The most important thing when someone is stuck in a hole, especially, if it is sand, is not to panic. The more the victim moves the more they will be entrapped,” said Chief Richards.
The unearthing process took the efforts of Lt. Keven Czapla, FF Kristen Ihde, AE Shawn Kotfer, FF Craig Mateyov, Sr., FF Craig Mateyov, Jr., FF Ryan Parker, Lt. Jared Priest, Lt. Benjamin Ragdale, FF Geraldine Richards, Lt. Keith Richards, Chief Richards, and Engineer Chris Stearns, OMFD, to save the boys life. The young man survived and was sent via Life Star to the Rhode Island Hospital. This story gained national attention and was shown on a number of global news stations.
“This was our first trench rescue because we just got certified, so I am very proud of my squad. The department owes a great thanks to the Town of Stonington for purchasing our rescue vehicle that we used,” said Chief Richards.
Chief Richards is one of 30 people on the National Fire Protection Association Board of Directors. He was asked to develop training standards for the USA and Canada.
The OMFD has over 20 active members that are MRT, EMT, and/or Fire Fighter certified. The fire department also has several rescue teams that are certified in technical trench, rope, core, open water, advanced open water, and black water rescue. Each fire fighter must put in a great deal of their time to train, some training programs being 144 hours. The fire department’s dive team’s skills and readiness for action have been crucial for many vital rescues this year. So far this summer, they were called to three major dive rescues.
The Old Mystic Fire Department is always looking for volunteers, if interested please call 860.572.0434.
Posted on September 16th, 2009 | category: Featured Articles
