Printed From Acorn-Online.comDarien Times
Emergency boats find controversy
Mar 9, 2006It’s a blustery March morning, but George Rozanovich doesn’t feel the chill as his boat cuts through the black waters off Darien’s coast. Rozanovich, captain of the Noroton Volunteer Fire Department’s marine division, stands at the control panel of the department’s newly refurbished boat, a craft far superior to the one owned by the Darien Police.
The fire department bought the 27-foot enclosed Boston Whaler in 1989 for $150,000. Even though the department raised that amount by the mid-1990s, it continues to hold an annual block party fundraiser to offset expenses, Rozanovich said.
The boat underwent a $26,000 refurbishment last year, for which the town gave $20,000, according to Rozanovich. In addition, Raymarine donated $15,000 for new electronics equipment and a global positioning system. The craft also has a tire pump, rescue gear, de-watering equipment to pump water from a leaking or submerged boat, a fire hydrant, a full enclosure that allows operators to handle severe or winter weather.
As a group of residents begins a separate fund-raiser for a new police boat, some in town have questioned the need for a new boat when the fire department’s boat has an up-to-date electronics system and is equipped to handle emergencies.
“Taxpayers are already paying for a boat now that is in service 365 days per year as required by the Coast Guard,” Rozanovich said. “The boat is equipped to handle search and seizure, fire, and other emergencies.”
David Hawes, an owner of Wheeler Real Estate, and Christopher McClancy, a Darien lawyer, formed Darien Police Boat Fund Raiser Inc. last month to raise $125,000 to replace the current Darien police boat, which is 10 years old and lacks all-weather protection.
Police Chief Duane Lovello denied claims that a new police boat would pose a greater burden on taxpayers.
“We’re not increasing staff. We’re not asking for more staff. If there’s any conception that this is going to put a burden on the town, that’s not true,” he said.
“You see the degree of shelter and the room (the fire department has) to operate. I think theirs is a really nice boat. We’re putting our guys out in a boat that’s open,” he added.
The police boat is kept in the water at the Darien Boat Club at Peach Tree Point year-round to comply with a post-Sept. 11, 2001, mandate from the Coast Guard requiring coastal towns to keep at least one boat on-call 24 hours a day for 365 days a year.
Noroton Fire Chief Mike Vitti agreed that the current police boat cannot adequately handle the Coast Guard’s mandate.
“If (the police are) going to be in the water year-round, that boat’s not suited for that. The guys have got to be protected,” Vitti said.
The police department receives a total of $5,300 from the town each year to operate its boat. This amount breaks down into $2,700 for motor fuel and lubricant and $2,600 for operating supplies, including buoys and harbor markers, Lovello said.
The new boat would “be a similar size, just a different configuration. The size of motors is the same so the fuel consumption might even be less because it’ll be more efficient,” he said.
Lovello estimated that the current boat’s tank holds between 80 and 100 gallons.
The fire department receives $6,000 from the town each year for its marine operations. This figure allots $3,200 for mechanical repairs and $2,800 for marine gear and supplies, Vitti said.
Vitti estimated that the department pays about $18,000 a year to operate the boat, about $12,000 of which comes through fund-raising efforts. He said that the boat’s 140-gallon tank costs about $200 to fill.
The fire department’s boat is kept at Ziegler’s Cove year-round and is manned by volunteers. Of the department’s 30 volunteers, Rozanovich said, there are “probably about 20 qualified for the boat.” The boat requires a crew of four to six, he said.
The department holds drills on the boat once a month, and a crew tests the boat each week, Rozanovich said.
The boat serves Darien and parts of Norwalk but has “access to anywhere on the coast,” Rozanovich said. Crews have extinguished house fires as far away as Huntington, Long Island, according to Vitti.
The volunteer fire department made eight rescues in 2005, according to Vitti. Emergencies include boats in distress or sinking craft.
“It seems like it’s picking up as more people purchase boats,” he said.
Vitti said that the fire and police departments have been working closer together since Sept. 11, 2001.
“Since then times have changed. We complement each other. There’s probably no division (in responsibilities) except we’re more equipped for rescue,” he said.
“We definitely have better relations now,” Rozanovich said. “The more we do things together, the better it is for the community.”
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