Photo and story by Diane TilleyLt. Kroop, firefighter Kobuszewski and two North Arlington Firefighters stand next to the NAFD Rescue Boat used to pull two men from the marsh after their inflatable boat sank.
KEARNY – Local police and fire departments rescued a 25-year-old and a 17-year-old from an inflatable boat that was sinking in the marsh waters behind the Keegan Landfill on Monday, March 2. Coordinated efforts between the Kearny Police Department and the Kearny and North Arlington Fire Departments resulted in a successful water rescue.
At approximately 4:20 p.m. Kearny dispatch received a 9-1-1 call from a cell phone belonging to one of the young men stating they were in the open waters of the marsh and their inflatable boat was sinking, according to Kearny police Capt. Greg Reid.
The young men told officials they entered the water by Gunnell Oval off of Schuyler Avenue. A strong easterly wind carried their boat into and across the open water and into a small peninsula far across the marsh. Their exact location was unknown.
“When the 9-1-1 call came in their boat had already sunk,” Reid said.
The castaways were difficult to spot because they were at least a quarter of a mile out in the water and inaccessible to searchers at the marsh’s edge. The Kearny Fire Department notified North Arlington and requested their assistance and to bring their rescue boat. Once the Kearny police was able to narrow down the search area, the rescue boat with firefighters aboard was launched and guided in by Kearny Fire Chief Steven Dyl.
“I was able to locate them through the binoculars and guide the rescue boat by radio to their location,” Dyl said.
The young men received the inflatable boat the day before in the mail and were anxious to try it out.
“Thankfully they had their cell phone. We were in constant communications with the victims and used the longitude and latitude of their cell phones GPS (Global Positioning System) to triangulate their position. If that proved unsuccessful we were prepared to ask the state police to dispatch the helicopter to search from the air,” Capt. Reid said.
The two victims were dressed in camouflage and leather jackets and were standing in chest-deep frigid water for more than 30 minutes before being pulled into the rescue boat at 5:10 p.m. They were treated at the scene by Kearny Emergency Services for exposure and hypothermia and transported to the University of Medicine and Dentistry Trauma Center in Newark.
At approximately 4:20 p.m. Kearny dispatch received a 9-1-1 call from a cell phone belonging to one of the young men stating they were in the open waters of the marsh and their inflatable boat was sinking, according to Kearny police Capt. Greg Reid.
The young men told officials they entered the water by Gunnell Oval off of Schuyler Avenue. A strong easterly wind carried their boat into and across the open water and into a small peninsula far across the marsh. Their exact location was unknown.
“When the 9-1-1 call came in their boat had already sunk,” Reid said.
The castaways were difficult to spot because they were at least a quarter of a mile out in the water and inaccessible to searchers at the marsh’s edge. The Kearny Fire Department notified North Arlington and requested their assistance and to bring their rescue boat. Once the Kearny police was able to narrow down the search area, the rescue boat with firefighters aboard was launched and guided in by Kearny Fire Chief Steven Dyl.
“I was able to locate them through the binoculars and guide the rescue boat by radio to their location,” Dyl said.
The young men received the inflatable boat the day before in the mail and were anxious to try it out.
“Thankfully they had their cell phone. We were in constant communications with the victims and used the longitude and latitude of their cell phones GPS (Global Positioning System) to triangulate their position. If that proved unsuccessful we were prepared to ask the state police to dispatch the helicopter to search from the air,” Capt. Reid said.
The two victims were dressed in camouflage and leather jackets and were standing in chest-deep frigid water for more than 30 minutes before being pulled into the rescue boat at 5:10 p.m. They were treated at the scene by Kearny Emergency Services for exposure and hypothermia and transported to the University of Medicine and Dentistry Trauma Center in Newark.
