By Evonne Coutros
Herald News
PASSAIC COUNTY, N.J. — Thanks to mutual aid, extensive disaster training and a cache of top-notch search-and-rescue equipment, emergency workers say they weathered a punch from Hurricane Irene that could have taken lives.
From Lodi to Mahwah, emergency responders used a range of sophisticated and even archaic tools to pluck people from raging floodwaters.
A six-man crew of Mahwah firefighters from Rescue Company 1 used their 20-foot airboat in Oakland to save a man who was in neck-deep water, clinging to a tree on Lake Shore Drive. “It took six minutes from launch to recovery,” said Mahwah Fire Chief Brian Potter.
Emergency responders in Mahwah are accustomed to grappling with floodwaters from the Ramapo and Mahwah rivers. The township maintains a 16-foot motorboat, 12-foot tender boat and the airboat. It also has an 18-member dive team and 40-member swift-water rescue team, Potter said.
“Sometimes having this equipment is seen as having the shiny bells and whistles, but if it saves one life, the cost is worth it to me,” Potter said, adding that the $75,000 cost of the airboat was split between a private donor and the township.
Boats are a standard accessory for 50 of the 69 fire departments in Bergen County -- including Wallington, Little Ferry, River Edge and Fair Lawn, according to Larry Rauch, chief fire instructor at the Bergen County Law & Public Safety Institute. In many cases the equipment is purchased with federal dollars or through organizational donations.
The Ridgefield Fire Department has a 16-foot, outboard motor Boston Whaler and a 14-foot rubber, military-style boat.
“In our case, we own a lot of marshland -- Overpeck Creek under Route 46, the area of the Vince Lombardi [rest area on the New Jersey Turnpike] and a portion of the Hackensack River falls under us,” said Ridgefield Deputy Fire Chief Mike Kees.
Lodi replaced its fiberglass Boston Whaler and two row boats when they were damaged during Tropical Storm Floyd. The borough now has three flat bottom aluminum boats -- each costing $20,000, which were paid for by the Joint Insurance Fund (JIF). During Hurricane Irene, the boats were used to scoop up two men canoeing down flooded Main Street.
The aluminum boats stand up to road obstacles such as guardrails and fire hydrants better than fiberglass boats, which tend to crack, said Firefighter Charles “Chuck” Cuccia, who works as the borough administrator in Saddle River.
The same model boats are used in Wallington, Rochelle Park, Elmwood Park and Paterson. “It was a collective decision that we all try to get the same boat,” he said.
“We have manhole covers that come off, street flooding and submerged cars,” Cuccia said. “These boats are made for street flooding and serve a purpose for a group response. They can be put together and used as platforms for the dive teams.”
Lodi Fire Chief Anthony Maiolo said when the manhole cover dislodged and the geyser of water toppled the canoers, the rescue boats were ideal.
“Because our boats are flat bottom, it made it easier [to rescue the men] because it’s a more balanced boat,” Maiolo said. “It has capabilities on any river throughout south Bergen. They’re phenomenal.”
One man attempted to drive his car under a railroad trestle at Mercer and River streets in Hackensack on Sunday afternoon after the Hackensack River crested. It was flooded with up to 8 feet of water at its deepest spot, said Hackensack fire Lt. Richard Katz.
“Firefighters went to the trestle and lowered a life vest and instructed the man to put it on and await one of the fire department marine units -- which were tied up on other calls,” Katz said.
The man was not injured.
Three types of boats
Hackensack Fire Chief Tom Freeman said three boats -- a 17-foot flat bottom boat, an inflatable boat and motorized rowboat -- were used to evacuate residents from apartment complexes and cars during Hurricane Irene.
“They were running continuously,” Freeman said.
Of the department’s 99 paid members, six are assigned to the boat unit and roughly 35 members of the department are trained for natural disasters and building collapses.
“This was much more of a flooding event in Hackensack,” Freeman said. “The water was deeper and affected more buildings.”
Water was running so fast in parts of the city that Freeman said his teams considered using an old equipment standby.
“There was a point ... when the water was running so fast that we were considering setting up a pulley system,” he said. “The current was so strong ... the boat engine couldn’t even keep up with the current.”
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