Houseboat

Houseboat / motor boat accident debriefing was held in the Scotch Creek Fire-hall, bringing in about 16 people that were involved in the accident. The North Shuswap First Responders, BC Ambulance Service(BCAS), Anglemont VFD, Chase Rescue, Scotch Creek VFD, RCMP and Shuswap Emergency Planners; were all involved.  The discussion was broken into; What Went Right, What Went Wrong, Recommendations and other problems. It was a good meeting and it was quickly recognized that for the most part working between all parties went well. There was appreciation for the efficiency and professionalism of the First Responders being one of the parties first on site. The other, not often recognized help was the residents in the area who were also instrumental in making the accident less impactful. It was the combination of BCAS, NS First Responders, Anglemont VFD, RCMP and Chase Rescue, that made life saving successful.  The debriefing was late but it is timely to remind people that the summer (apparently) season is again upon us. 

On that fateful night; the call out went out around 11:30pm and by 4:00 am most people had finished and left the scene. There were many things that could of gone wrong, the most obvious was the ability for everyone to work together made a terrible situation a successful rescue operation. Though there were tragic out comes from the accident, there were some positives. The issue of disregarded for safety on the lake was brought to light.  The RCMP has received a boat to do better policing on the lake and there is a general  awareness of the seriousness of the problems on the lake.