DEP: Boating Safety Is Top Priority On The Water

The beautiful weather means more boaters are hitting the water and it's a trend that have kept rescuers in West Haven very busy lately.  As a result,  public safety officials are trying to get the message out that a life jacket is as important as a seat belt.

“Anytime you’re out on a boat even a personal watercraft or jet ski everyone on board has to have a personal flotation device,” said Captain Glen Murray of the West Shore Fire Department in West Haven.

The Department of Environmental Protection says life jackets save lives and the DEP has staggering statistics to prove it according to Murray. “90% of all fatalities on the water could be avoided with a personal flotation device,”  he said. 

The West Shore Firehouse faces the Long Island Sound and has responded to at least 8 water rescues this year alone, including one on Friday when 2 men on a jet ski flipped over.  “Two of our members took the men out of the water and one of them was not wearing a life jacket, ” said Murray.

Both men survived but Murray and boaters agree the men may have made it to shore on their own if both were wearing a life jacket. Murray said, “once you go in the water it provides buoyancy it helps you float it’ll also help reduce fatigue it’ll if you’re treading water its something that’ll keep you above water.”

Jaclyn Chiarelli of West Haven has been boating in the Long Island Sound her entire life and says “if you’re getting tired and stuck somewhere and are out in the water, it’s going to help you hang out if you need to and rest up, if you have to swim into shore.”

Murray says another safety measures boaters often ignore is that it’s illegal to drink and operate a watercraft.
 

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