New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
“Firefighters received the call at 6:53 pm last night and immediately responded directly to a home on Shore Ave with Ambulance 3 and Squad 3 (with our inflatable boat in tow).
Firefighters deployed the boat from the backyard and were over the last seen position of the swimmer in less than 14 minutes. Firefighters deployed a handheld sonar device to scan under the water but found no targets.
Lakeville Car 1 requested the Plymouth County Dive Team and Middleborough Fire Department’s underwater camera to the scene. Lakeville PD’s vessel joined the search, while other officers and firefighters searched the shoreline and questioned neighbors.
The missing swimmer was located safe on a pontoon boat shortly after. All incoming assets were canceled. It is not known how he came to be on the boat.
This incident marks the first response for our new inflatable boat, intended to be rapidly deployed from any shore. The fast response will hopefully mean the difference between a rescue and a recovery. The response was also the first deployment of our hand-held sonar. This device was purchased with an EMA grant and shared with Lakeville Police.
Lakeville Ambulance 3 transported the adult male for evaluation at a hospital.
The Lakeville Fire Department would like to express our gratitude to all activated firefighters and fire departments who started out to our emergency. Thank you to Lakeville PD for a coordinated response.” -Lakeville Fire Department.
