Man Drowns at Alameda Beach While Fire Department, Coast Guard, Watch
By Leanne Maxwell on May 30, 2011
The Oakland Tribune (via Mercury News) reports on a tragic story of a 57-year-old man who drowned in the bay in Alameda on Monday after wading chest-high in the water fully clothed for nearly an hour before rescuers could reach him.
Witnesses told the Tribune that police and fire crews responded quickly to the scene, but because the Alameda Fire Department is not certified in land-based water rescues, they had to wait for the United States Coast Guard to arrive.
The Coast Guard reportedly responded within 20 minutes with a rescue boat, but because the man was in fairly shallow water, they had to wait for a helicopter instead. The helicopter took 65 minutes to arrive because it had been out on another mission and needed to refuel.
In the mean time, a woman in her late 20s who's trained as a water rescue nurse, was able to pull the man out when he was about 50 yards from shore. Unfortunately, rescuers were unable to revive him, and he was later pronounced dead at Alameda Hospital.
(05-31-2011, 09:44 PM)Maggot Wrote: Lesson learned: Never ever go swimming with all your stupid clothes on. Or forget you have the damn things on.
They're saying he was trying to (and succeeded) at commiting suicide. With a bunch of fire/police/coast guard officials around watching while he killed himself with water just up to his neck. In a bay FFS (i.e., pretty much zero waves/undertow).
I recently read that drowning is not what many of us perceive it to be. It's not loud with shouting & arms raised and splashing, it's basically silent, when there is opportunity to shout it can't be done because one is taking that moment to breathe not holler for help. It's not like what we see in movies or the fake shit people do when they are dickin' around in the water.
(CNN) -- Alameda, California, has immediately changed its policies after first responders watched a man drown in San Francisco Bay and did nothing to rescue him.
The man was apparently suicidal, CNN affiliate KTVU reported. After he entered the bay off Alameda Beach on Monday and stood in neck-deep water, then treaded water, police and firefighters who were called to the scene did not set foot in the bay.
The events of Memorial Day were "very difficult and very regrettable," Alameda Interim Fire Chief Michael D'Orazi told CNN Wednesday.
Two things prevented authorities from taking action, he said. First, because it was a crime scene, the police department was in charge. "They felt that going into the water initially might not be the best idea because they were unsure if this individual was armed, the stability of the individual," D'Orazi said.
Also, "there was a policy in place that pretty much precluded our people from entering the water."
That has been changed, he said. "We will be putting into effect a new policy which allows our commander discretion after these circumstances."
The firefighters on the beach "were incredibly frustrated by this whole situation," he said, adding that "they wanted to get in, they wanted to take action."
Local officials said that because of a lack of funding for shore-to-water rescue, firefighters had no one properly trained to go into the water, KTVU reported.
"It's muddy out there. We don't want them sinking. We don't want them in distress," Alameda Interim Police Chief Michael Noonan said in the KTVU report.
One local resident, addressing officials at a meeting about the incident, said, "It just strikes me as unbelievably callous that nobody there with any sort of training could strip off their gear and go and help this person."
![[Image: Zy3rKpW.png]](https://i.imgur.com/Zy3rKpW.png)
In a bay FFS (i.e., pretty much zero waves/undertow).
.........We will see. Or look away you could be sued! 
