First Responders Debrief on Kayak Incident

Area first responders gathered at the Gibraltar Fire Department on July 17 for a debriefing on the July 10 – 11 incident in which three people – an adult and two children – were lost on Lake Michigan in rented kayaks.

While that ended happily, with all three being rescued by the Coast Guard the morning of July 11, the first responder debriefing was called to examine all aspects of the response and how to improve the response in the future.

“Is there anything we should have done, could have done,” said Lt. Jeff Farley of the Door County Sheriff’s Department. “We’ll take a look at everything we did do, good, bad, just so that we’re all on the same page. It’s good just to get all the people together to ascertain how can we improve. I’m a big believer of this. That’s why we’re pushing to get everybody together.”

“Part of the conversations we need to have as responders is what kind of expectations we can realistically put on businesses,” said Gibraltar Fire Chief Caleb Whitney. “It is a public safety concept. What’s difficult, we don’t have jurisdiction. Once your feet are wet, you’re beyond anything we can do. The response is under the sheriff, DNR or Coast Guard. We’ve simply became an extension of who they are. The reasons we’ve gotten into water rescue, there are not enough of those guys, and there are a lot of businesses out there.”