BY SERGIO BUSTOS
sbustos@MiamiHerald.com
It was supposed to be a happy family outing on a Saturday afternoon in the Everglades.
Then the airboat's engine conked out and a family of eight suddenly found themselves stranded in the middle of one of South Florida's most desolate areas.

It would take Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials eight hours to find the Peacon family.
Lucky for them, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue had an airboat for just such emergencies, said Miami-Dade Fire Lt. Eddy Ballaster.

''This could have been a very serious situation,'' he said.

Here's what happened:
Earlier in the day, Jeff and John Peacon, both brothers from south Miami-Dade, embarked on a trip to the Everglades aboard their own airboat. In all, eight people -- five adults and three children, ages 17, 10 and 9 -- climbed aboard for the outing.

At some point during the trip, the airboat's engine failed, leaving the family stranded in the vast and remote Everglades. It's unclear their precise location.

They immediately contacted authorities with a cellphone, prompting Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to use their rescue airboat, said Ballaster.

Still, it would take rescue workers nearly eight hours to locate the disabled airboat, said Ballaster, who said the family was found at about 10 p.m.

Had the search effort by airboat failed, rescue workers were prepared to send a helicopter, said Ballaster.

Efforts to reach the family late Saturday were unsuccessful.

Airboats are easier to launch into the water in flood when compared with other watercraft. Airboats become especially effective in urban flood scenarios.

New Orleans, La., August 30, 2005 -- Aerial view of flood waters covering a roadway in New Orleans where people are launching rescue boats. New Orleans is being evacuated as a result of floods caused by hurricane Katrina. Photo by Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA

September 7 2006

Recipients of "Hero of the Year" Awards from the National Association of Letter Carriers are shown with NALC President William H. Young, 3rd from right, and Deputy Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, 4th from right, after receiving certificates in a Washington, DC ceremony September 7, 2006. Pictured, l-r, are National Humanitarian Lane Anderson of Santa Barbara, CA; Bernadine Morris of New Orleans, LA, wife of Central Region Hero Leonard Morris, who was unable to attend; Carrier Alert Award winner Samuel Dickson of Brownsville, IN; Eastern Region Hero Terry Hampton of Macon, GA; Donahoe; Young; Western Region Hero Luis Espinosa of Dayton, TX, and National Hero of the Year James Osborne of Port St. Lucie, FL. (Photo by Michael Shea/NALC)

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Doug Bienvenu and Drue LeBlanc spent three days in the murky city waters. Doug Bienvenu's efforts began long before Hurricane Katrina slammed the US coast.

Bienvenu says he called three fire departments in New Orleans, the city and state police, Coast Guard and Wildlife and Fisheries and left his name to say he had many boats on stand-by.

Days passed and no phone call came from any of the agencies. All it took was one clip from CNN and Bienvenu and his fiance', Drue LeBlanc, were on their way with an airboat in tow.

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For the most part it was a typical Sunday afternoon for Brian Edwards at his home in Fremont, Ohio, as he sat by the phone anticipating a call from his friend. The day before, Edwards had received an e-mail sent to airboat rescue personnel regarding the possible need for boats and operators in Louisiana as Hurricane Katrina approached the coast. The call he was expecting finally came, from someone who is not only his friend but also the safety officer for the Florida Airboat Association.

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On Sunday, February 18th, Co's 14 and 28 participated in an air boat ice water drill. Air boats 14 and 28 were taken to the Potomac river to practice staging, launching, and handling the air boats in ice water. This was the first time that the air boats had been on the water together. An unexpected snow squall and a vehicle accident on Rt 15 at the river brought the drill to a quick end.

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Monday March 13, 2006;

Two Manitoba snowmobilers stranded on an island near Kenora Friday night were rescued in an airboat by the Lake of the Woods Search and Rescue unit. By Dan Gauthier Miner and News. Two Manitoba snowmobilers stranded on an island near Kenora Friday night were rescued in an airboat by the Lake of the Woods Search and Rescue unit.

Rescue unit member Terry McLeod said they received a call from the Kenora detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police just before 8 p.m. Friday to pick up two snowmobilers who had broken through thin ice and were stranded on Leisure Island on the east end of the Keewatin Channel.

3/28/2007 7:04 PM
By: Seth Voorhees

As the sun rose over Sodus Bay, driver and rescue crews prepared for another day’s work.

“If you look at probabilities, you always hope there’s a great outcome, that you always find the person,” said John Davis of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The search for Ernest Paternoster began Monday night after the Oswego fisherman’s family reported him missing.

It continued Tuesday, through heavy fog and the ice that still covered the bay.

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The Associated Press

Waters that pushed over roads and into homes in parts of northeast Kansas by a slow-moving weekend storm were receding slowly Monday, but the National Weather Service still had a flood warning in effect for some areas.
After a helicopter tour of the flood-stricken area Sunday, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared a state of emergency in Jefferson, Jackson, Leavenworth and Douglas Counties. That authorized six state agencies, including the Kansas National Guard and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, to provide assistance.

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By Kris Axtman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

NEW ORLEANS – Nick Cronin woke up with a start, shaken from recurring memories of what he has seen since he arrived in New Orleans.
He crept out into the humid night, past his friends asleep all around him, to get a breath of air and "talk to the Man."

The fog was thick and the moon was bright, making the soft surroundings seem almost spiritual. Despite all the horror, says Mr. Cronin, "It made me more sure of what I was doing here."

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April 7, 2007: At 1828 hours, units from company 8 were alerted for a boat in distress, reportedly in the Mattawoman Creek near the Sand Dunes. Communications advised via telephone that there was a vessel stranded in the mud and , Potomac Marine Tow Boat was unable to access them due to shallow water. Brush 8-4, Airboat 8, MSU 8, Fireboat 8, Rescue 8, PA167, and Chief 8B responded. While traveling northbound in the creek, the vessel was found just north of Gray’s beach. The Airboat made its way through the shallow water to access the stranded boat. Despite being in the cold for nearly four hours waiting for the tide to change, all occupants were okay. The men were transported by Airboat 8 back into Grays Beach where Rescue 8 and Chief 8B were awaiting their arrival. The men were then taken back to their vehicle in Indian Head, and all units cleared. When the Airboat was being purchased, many people did not understand why we would purchase something like this. This incident proves exactly why this type of apparatus is needed in the area. Other V-Hull type vessels were not able to get within 75 yards of the stranded vessel due to extremely shallow water, but the Airboat was able to pull right up to the stranded boat’s stern.

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Three deaths, serious injuries highlight dangers

John Lee
Post-Crescent staff writer

Jan. 06, 2003

Winnegago Co, WI - A 44-year-old Tustin man died early today at Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, about 12 hours after he was pulled from the west end of Lake Poygan. His identity was withheld pending the notification of relatives.

At least three other people escaped serious injury when their snowmobiles went through the ice Sunday on two area lakes, authorities said. Winnebago County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Jones said the Tustin man did not have a pulse, was not breathing and was suffering from “severe hypothermia,” when he was pulled from the lake by rescuers on the Omro-Rushford Fire Department airboat.

Jones said the man apparently had been in the water for about 15 minutes, and underwater for about four minutes.“He either hit open water or thin ice. We don’t know for sure,” Jones said. Jones said the man was found in five to seven feet of water. After being alerted by neighbors, Norman Lee and his sons, Perry and Colin, used their airboat to reach the man, who was about two miles offshore from Captain’s Cove, 9598 Welsch Road, Winneconne, a bar on Lake Poygan. The call for help came in at 1:11 p.m.“Perry got behind him and I put my arms around him and pulled him up the front of the boat. He had a pulse, but he wasn’t breathing,” said Colin Lee, who is a first responder for the Winneconne-Poygan Fire District. The two Lee brothers then performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Jones said indications are the man was alone.“We were able to get his pulse back, but we couldn’t get him back to breathing on his own,” said Colin Lee. “We couldn’t get all of the water out of his lungs.”

Gary Nelson, owner of Captain’s Cove, said ice on that lake varies widely, from about a half inch to nearly a foot.The man’s snowmobile went through the ice on the north side of Poygan. “It’s spotty,” Nelson said. “We have very good ice in the cove. We have 8 inches to 10 inches.”Otherwise, he said, there is bad ice in general on the lake. “This is not the year to be dancing around if you don’t know where you’re going.”

At 1:52 p.m. Sunday, Christopher Korth, 22, of Oshkosh, and Eric Korth, 14, of Omro, got out of Lake Butte des Morts on their own and were given a ride from the lake by a nearby resident after their snowmobiles went through thin ice between Oshkosh and Omro, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department said. They were treated at the scene, but their sleds were on the bottom of the lake, Jones said. Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department officials said a man escaped injury Saturday when his snowmobile went though ice on Black Otter Lake in Hortonville.

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Airboats are used to push grasses underwater creating firelines.

APRIL Combats and Reduces Haze Through Active Fire Prevention and Response

With the haze back in Indonesia, APRIL (Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited), one of the world's leading producers of fiber, pulp and paper, has taken the lead among companies in combating fires by adding air-born firefighting capability to its existing ground and water-based competence.

A McDonnell-Douglas 500Er helicopter with a 476-liter water bucket have been contracted by APRIL to enable the company to respond rapidly to fires. APRIL also has an airboat which significantly improves movement in the lowlands and is effective in the rapid response to fires. This is in addition to the traditional fire truck and ground fire fighting teams.

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The telephone number to report any emergency - on or off water - in Dickinson County is 911. All Iowa Great Lakes fire and rescue departments provide an extensive range of emergency services to their jurisdictions.

All Iowa Great Lakes fire and rescue departments provide an extensive range of emergency services to their jurisdictions.

The Arnolds Park/Okoboji Fire and Rescue Department serves the cities of Arnolds Park and Okoboji as well as the surrounding rural area. This combined department provides the primary fire and rescue service on the waters of East and West Lake Okoboji, Lake Minnewashta, and Upper and Lower Gar Lake. These emergency services are provided on the water by utilizing a fireboat, several rescue Personal Water Craft, a rescue airboat for use on ice-covered lakes, and an extensively trained and equipped dive team.

Fire Attack: Big Burns
By Greg Jakubowski

Making your way through warehouse fires

Fire departments must be aware of the warehouses in their coverage area, and they should know what’s stored inside, consider potential incidents and prepare action plans.
Warehouse fires can pose some of the greatest challenges to fire departments. Like almost all fires, they start small. If departments are prepared, quick detection and response may keep them that way, but delays in detection or response can result in catastrophic incidents that pose significant hazards to firefighters and the public. Fire departments must be aware of the warehouses and storage occupancies in their coverage area, and they should know what's stored in these occupancies, consider the potential incidents that can occur in them and prepare action plans to address these incidents.

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July 23, 2007
By Charlie Chapple
St. Tammany bureau

Matt Wall and Francis Motichek carefully parted the top of a three-foot high, five-foot wide circular mound of saw grass, exposing the the more than 40 alligator eggs inside.

"This is a healthy clutch," Wall said, nodding in appreciation as he he held up an egg to the Monday morning sun.

Standing on an airboat surrounded by hundreds of acres of marsh, the two carefully lifted 46 gator eggs out of the mound one-by-one and placed them in a large grass-lined and padded plastic bucket in the same position as they lay in the nest.

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Peace Creek residents need help getting home

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For 6 hours Saturday, volunteer airboaters provided rides to and from the Peace Creek RV & Mobile Home Park to the Park's residents that wanted to inspect their homes, retrieve what belongings they could carry and secure their property. It was the first time since September 25th that the Park's owner and manager had been able to access the property and assess the damage.

October 4, 2004

Lake Wales, FL -- Residents of the Peace Creek RV & Mobile Home Park, near Lake Wales, Florida had not seen their homes for more than 7 days, since evacuating prior to the arrival of Hurricane Jeanne. Until today, they could only stand at the entrance of the Park off Hwy 27, look across a now one mile expanse of water that separated them from their homes and wonder what condition they were in or if they existed at all. The access road to the Park now lays under 4-8 feet of water and the new lake, created by Hurricane Jeanne, completely surrounds their homes. Not even the Park's owner or manager had been able to access the Park and assess the damage.

At 9:00 AM today volunteers from the Florida Airboat Association, organized by Robert Dummett of Lake Wales and safety committee chairman for the Association, arrived at the Park's entrance, unloaded their airboats and provided the residents with rides across the vegetation and debris filled water to the Park to inspect their homes.
For some the elderly residents and those who had moved to Florida from the North, it was the first time that they had ever ridden on an airboat and they found the rides a to be an exhilarating experience, helping them cope with the despair that they found within the Park.

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Two telecommunications employees were plucked from the flood swollen Chattahoochee by airboat after falling into the river at the Highway 166 Bridge, in Douglas County Georgia and being swept away in the 28 knot current and an extensive four hour search.

July 26, 2005 -- In the wake of Hurricane Dennis, two telecommunications employees, working to free tree limbs that had become entangled in the fiber optic cables that span the Chattahoochee River at Highway 166 Bridge, near Douglasville, Georgia, fell into the river's rushing waters, Monday night July 11, 2005 and were rapidly swept downriver in the darkness, as co-workers watched helplessly from the bridge above.

Rescue units from the Douglas County Fire-Rescue Department and law enforcement officers from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, as well as a helicopter from the Atlanta Police Department responded to the incident.

Following a 2 1/2 hour air and water search, Richard Dunkin, 22 and Jeremy Rice, 28, were located, by the crew of a rescue airboat, perched in an uprooted oak tree drifting with the current down the Chattahoochee River approximately 4 miles from where they were last seen.

The two men were aboard a personal watercraft chainsawing trees that had become entangled in fiber-optic cables, when one of the loose cables, caught by the 28 knot current, began whipping in the air. The whipping cable made contact with the PWC flipping it and catapulting the two men into the water. Dunkin and Rice were quickly carried downriver and out of sight in the darkness.

The PWC had capsized and sunk in the muddy water. Dunkin and Rice drifted with the river's current until they were able to swim to a drifting tree, climb into its limbs and wait to be rescued.

The two men were plucked from the tree by the airboat crew and transported to Douglas County EMS personnel six miles downriver at the Highway 92 Bridge where the Douglas County Fire Department had established a command post.

September 11, 2005

By BOB DART Cox News

NEW ORLEANS — A makeshift fleet of airboats, skiffs from state wildlife agencies, and assorted other craft searched for the living and dead Saturday in the murky, poisonous floodwaters of a slowly drying city.

Officials deployed cadaver-sniffing dogs and forensic specialists across New Orleans in the grisly task of collecting and identifying the bloated, decaying victims of hurricane Katrina.

Thousands of New Orleans residents remained in the city, despite a mandatory evacuation order.

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STACY LANGLEY , The Huron Daily Tribune

December 27, 2005 - SAGINAW BAY — The airboat from the Huron County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to help in the rescue of ice fishermen stranded 1/2 mile off the Geiger Road public access site in Fairhaven Township.
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According to a press release from the Huron County Sheriff’s Office, the victim, Matthew J. Reidel, was ice fishing on Christmas Eve with friends, Aaron Eberlein and Charles Mihacsi, both of Sebewaing, when the incident occurred just before 6 p.m.

Reports from the sheriff’s office indicate that when the men began to head to shore Reidel’s snowmobile quit and both Eberlein and Mihacsi didn’t wait and continued to shore without him.

Reidel was able to contact his friends from his cellular phone, telling them he needed help. The friends returned to the ice, finding Reidel unable to move because he was wet from the rain, melting ice and was reportedly suffering from hypothermia.

According to police, the friends moved Reidel to an ice fishing shanty that had a propane heater inside. The heater was started while Mihacsi called 9-1-1 for help. Mihacsi then went back to shore to direct the rescuers to the location while Eberlein stayed in the shanty with Reidel.

When the airboat arrived, both Reidel and Eberlein were transported to shore where they were met by personnel from the Sebewaing Ambulance service. Reidel was then transported to Scheurer Hospital in Pigeon for treatment of hypothermia.

When Hurricane Rita hits Mouton Cove, residents and friends of the small Cajun community search for signs of life.
by Jeremy Alford

September 28, 2005 - When Rita makes landfall as a Category 3 hurricane at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning around Sabine Pass on the extreme southwestern corner of Louisiana, 100-mile-per-hour wind squalls are wreaking havoc on the trees in Carencro’s Lexington Heights neighborhood. The tops of majestic water oaks bend at 90-degree angles, and the sound of cracking pecan trees fills the night.

A few hours of restless sleep doesn’t stop the howling cacophony. Around 9 a.m., a huge boom resounds through the air; a 100-foot-tall water oak goes down and crashes through the roof of a home; luckily the residents are safe in another part of the house.

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September 27, 2005 - Cameron, La. -- Cameron Parish is the largest county in all of Louisiana, a big, flat marshy place that absorbed Hurricane Rita's storm surge like a sponge. There wasn't a whole lot here before the hurricane, and there's a whole lot less now that it's passed.
What the water didn't inundate, the wind carried away, and authorities said they simply cannot say when most of the 9,800 people who live on this stretch of the Gulf Coast can return.

Not that they'll find much worth returning to.

The storm destroyed up to 80 percent of the houses south of the Intracoastal Waterway, a shipping channel that divides the county in two, officials said. About 6,000 people live on the south side, and it could be weeks before the roads are cleared and a month or more before the power is back.

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Local residents prepare to help storm victims

August 30, 2005 - WINTER HAVEN - One large group of Florida residents believes it is time to return a desperately needed favor.
The Florida Airboat Association, its club members and other area residents are preparing to help residents of Louisiana and Mississippi who were disastrously affected by the might of Hurricane Katrina on Monday. The storm landed between the mouth of the Mississippi River and Grand Isle, an area south of New Orleans, with winds of 140 mph causing structures to collapse, flooding to exceed limits and thousands of residents to be left with debris and without water and power.

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Midwest Region

August 16, 2006

Bill Thrune, Refuge Operations Specialist and Calvin Gehri, Biological Science Technician, were awarded the Citation for Exemplary Act from Service Director Dale Hall. The two were awarded this honor for their quick action and bravery in the rescue of a potential drowning victim in December 2005.

It was a cold and blustery December day when the refuge received the call from the Wisconsin 911 Dispatch Center to request assistance in rescuing an individual who had fallen through the ice on Lake Onalaska, a major backwater of the Upper Mississippi River.

Bill Thrune and Calvin Gehri quickly prepared the airboat, loaded survival gear, and drove to the landing where emergency vehicles and the news media were already present.

Thrune and Gehri were briefed on the rescue efforts. Four firefighters from the Town of Campbell outfitted in coldwater rescue gear, had already walked and crawled about 600 yards across the ice to the victim.

Thrune drove the airboat to the scene where the firefighters had brought the victim out of the water. The rescuers struggled to move the ice-encased victim onto the front deck of the airboat. Two of the firefighters accompanied Thrune back to the landing with the victim. At the landing, the victim was quickly loaded into a waiting ambulance and transported to the hospital.

Thrune returned to the scene with the airboat to collect the remaining two members of the rescue team and returned to recover the victim's boat. While Thrune operated the airboat, Gehri remained at the landing working closely with emergency response personnel and provided information to the media. Due to the efforts of many, the victim survived the accident and made a full recovery.

Sept. 8, 2005 - AUSTIN, Texas — Within the past week, Texas game wardens in New Orleans have rescued close to 5,000 people left stranded by Hurricane Katrina's lingering floodwaters. Meanwhile, hundreds of evacuees are still camping free in dozens of Texas state parks.

On Aug. 30, a team of 53 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens from all parts of the state crossed the Louisiana line with 52 vehicles and 50 boats, marking the first time Texas game wardens have been deployed for disaster relief out of state. Texas game wardens are trained and experienced in flood rescue and water safety, with boats and equipment often used during flash floods and other natural disasters.

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REGION II
District 2 CPOs made four OUI arrests and two drug arrests during boat patrols on the Chain O’Lakes.

A CPO is investigating a fatal boat accident/incident that occurred on the Kankakee River near Dresden Nuclear Station Saturday night. Three subjects were returning from a riverside bar around 2:30 am in a pontoon boat.

Two of the subjects (father/daughter) were extremely intoxicated, according to the boat operator. The female went to the rear of the pontoon boat and fell off.

The father jumped in after her. The boat operator grabbed available life jackets, jumped in the water and swam to the female, who was violent and refused to take the life jacket. The boat operator swam to the father, who also refused to take a life jacket.

The boat began drifting away so the operator swam back to the boat. The female swam to the intake of the Dresden Nuclear Station where she clung to the intake grate refusing to get out of the water. The father was last seen disappearing under the surface of the water.

County police responded and had to remove the female from the water against her will.

Search and rescue from boats and shoreline commenced and continued throughout the day on Sunday.

District 3 officers additionally utilized the airboat to search the vast swampy sections of the river otherwise inaccessible by boat. Water and shoreline search will continue on Monday.

October 5th, 2006, -From all accounts, Robert "Bob" Nelson loved to fly and was known as a very safe pilot. He was never one to push the envelope or fly in dangerous weather but on August 24th, he may have done just that.

August 24th had followed a week of volatile weather, severe hail storms had damage a wide swathe of crops from Gackle to Oakes. Storms had wiped out promising crops in the Swede township area of Kulm and storms had left drifts of hail in Edgeley. But those storms had little or nothing to do with this accident. August 24th would provide its own deadly storms.

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