False call leads to massive search in Mt. Hope Bay

Posted 5/29/16

PORTSMOUTH — A false distress call from a boat later found in a Bristol marina led to a large-scale search in Mt. Hope Bay Sunday afternoon.

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False call leads to massive search in Mt. Hope Bay

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — A false distress call from a boat later found in a Bristol marina led to a large-scale search in Mt. Hope Bay Sunday afternoon.

The Portsmouth Fire Department, as part of the Narragansett Bay Marine Task Force, responded at 1:20 p.m. Sunday to the waters off Common Fence Point after an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) was activated.  An EPIRB device is a distress beacon used by mariners worldwide to alert search-and-rescue responders that they are in trouble.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported the EPIRB belonged to the vessel Summer Office and the signal originated from the area of Mt. Hope Bay.

Responders included crews from Portsmouth, Bristol, Fall River, Warren, Swansea, Somerset, Tiverton and Little Compton.

After searching the area for more than an hour, the Coast Guard notified searchers that the vessel had been located in a marina in Bristol. All searchers returned to their communities.

“Every summer our people respond out to multiple false calls on the bay; it is very frustrating for our responders,” said Deputy Fire Chief Michael O’Brien in a prepared statement. “For every crew that is out on the water there is unmanned fire truck or ambulance back on land.  

“Our resources are depleted and response to actual emergency will be delayed or diminished during searches. Some of these false calls are malicious, some are due to poor judgment, and others are due to ‘good intent’ reports. All searches represent an expense to taxpayers, risk to our responders and wear and tear on our equipment.

“We ask that boaters use commonsense while out on the water; do not take chances and operate as safely as possible. We are aware that we must follow up every distress call; the first time we disregard one of these reports it will turn out to be an actual incident.

“Hopefully, with a little awareness, the number of false calls will be decreased.”

Portsmouth Fire Department

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