Fire Department Boat Sank During Tuesday’s Rescue Attempt: Paris Fire Chief

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Paris Fire Chief Collin Hennessey wants the public to know what happened to a boat that was seen sinking during the rescue attempt of 72-year-old Patrick Kelly on Tuesday.

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According to Chief Kelly:

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On 9/10/2024 at approximately 2:30 PM, several hours into the search for a missing diver at the wreck of the SS Wisconsin, the Kenosha County Fire & Rescue Associations Dive Rescue boat encountered a catastrophic event in which it started taking on water.

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The crew of the boat immediately transmitted a distress message over the radio and other boats immediately responded to its location to assist. This event occurred approximately 4 miles from shore and 2 miles from the SS Wisconsin wreck site.

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The other boats were able to assist the 8-person crew from the rescue boat safely along with most of the equipment. The attempts made to secure the boat were unsuccessful and the boat quickly sank approximately 65 feet to the bottom of Lake Michigan.

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The boat was a Bayliner Rendezvous 2659 which was 26.5ft long and 8.5ft wide, that was acquired approximately six years ago. The Kenosha County Fire/Rescue Association is actively working with the DNR to safely retrieve the vessel from the lake. The Kenosha County Fire/Rescue Association is still able to respond to incidents to protect the citizens of Kenosha County. 

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“Many have criticized the governmental agencies for this financial loss. Thankfully, there is insurance. The fact remains that 8 brave souls boarded this board with one mission – to rescue a man who had a freak accident while diving, an activity he loved. Financial losses don’t hold a candle to the loss of life. KCE says BRAVO and THANK YOU for each and every law enforcement officer and fire service member who risked their lives in service to another. Dollars < Human Life. It sucks that a boat was lost. It sucks even more that a life was lost. Let’s look at the big picture here, which is the heroism of many. Let’s not be distracted by this minor incident.”

-Kevin

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72 Responses

  1. We all cover the insurance costs and rising rates from such claims. It’s tragic- but let’s not try to sugarcoat the large financial toll this will take.

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    1. A quick google search shows the average cost of that exact model boat at 15-20k. A recovery company will charge probably 10-15k to bring it up. A grand total of a $1,000 deductible will financially ruin Paris. They’ll never recover from this. Mind as well close up shop and merge with Salem Lakes.

      Lighten up Francis

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      1. You must not be aware of the “up charge” that occurs when anything is purchased for a government entity. Learn a few things, Karen 😉

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  2. I know very little about boating. Maybe someone who knows can respond to this.

    My instincts tell me that 8 people on this boat may have been too much. Are 8 people on one boat of this type necessary? Was the boat over loaded and if it was did this contribute to the sinking?

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  3. Glad all the guys got off the boat okay, very unfortunate about the diver; but the libertarian in me knows how this will play out (cost of the boat to the taxpayers). They’ll be very happy that it will inflate the future budgets- so there’s that.

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      1. How about the side-scan sonar equipment that went down with it? That’s owned by taxpayers. Some made it off and alot didn’t.

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  4. Reminds me of that scene from Jaws where Richard Dreyfuss tells the local shark hunters that they overloaded the boat and they basically tell him to piss off.

  5. Calls into question the ability of the “rescue” team that needed rescuing from an overloaded boat. Amateur hour. They don’t even know how to properly display the registration info on their boat – wisconsin DNR uses “WS” for every watercraft, not “WI” as shown in the photo. Out tax $$ at work.

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  6. Weight/person restrictions are determined by the coast guard tag attached to boat. Obviously motor size/weight contributes to plus or minus that. Just a reply.

  7. For everyone wondering the weight limit, because everyone with comments seems to assume, criticize, or ill-humored, the weight limit for the Bayliner Rendezvous 2659 is 2222 Kg (4898 lb). Youre welcome

    1. Well within the weight of 8 people and whatever scuba gear they have. It’s really easy for all the arm chair critics to throw accusations around at the guys that are actually volunteering to do the work. If you’re so knowledgeable at how it should be done I’m sure they would love for you to join one of the volunteer fire departments and the dive team and help them out. These guys work full time jobs, then volunteer to put their lives at risk, for little or nothing.

      1. Okay. I get that. At the same time, if the people who are volunteering don’t go through the proper procedure or IF they arent trained well enough, ( IF that’s what happened, because the article doesn’t say, which leaves everyone guessing), then would you want them on a rescue team? 8 guys were at risk losing THEIR lives trying to save another. No. We dont know why the boat sank. Apparently, that information wasn’t given. I think it’s awesome they volunteer! With that being said though, why did this happen? Did someone forget to follow a step to reassure all was safe? Did the boat have some type of failure causing it to sink? Was it mechanically sound and checked before the rescue?Did they hit an unseen rock? Everyone is only left to speculate so there will be all sorts of crazy comments.

  8. Ummmmm, Kenosha County Fire/Rescue
    Assocation is a private nonprofit organization. The fire department simply let people know the incident occurred.

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  9. New rescue boats must be bought every 2 years, especially since the users don’t have to pay for it, but want the latest and greatest models.

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    1. There are thousands of cars driving around all day. It’s common for car crashes to occur. We’re talking about a boat 4 miles off the shore of Lake Michigan sinking without any reasonable explanation. It didn’t hit another boat, there are very few if any logs floating around big enough to sink a boat, and it certainly didn’t hit a rock or reef that far out. That’s why there’s outrage.

    2. Maybe because when a squad car gets slammed into, it’s not some great mystery for people whistling and looking the other way when asked why it sank?
      WHAT HAPPENED? Why did it sink?

  10. Most of us just want to know why it sank. We don’t seem to be getting even the simplest of explanations, so that would lead us to imply it would be inconvenient / embarrassing.

    1. Agreed, and as others have mentioned the simplest guests would be that they forgot to put a drain plug in. They would have been fine while hustling out towards the scene and might not have noticed water coming in until they slowed down approaching the scene. One would hope that there would be a thorough Coast Guard report since it was a sinking of a boat with occupants etc. Please, Coasties-do the right thing and be professional with a report and investigation.
      Have divers been sent down to the vote to replace the plug yet 😉

  11. If a boat sinks and the coast guard isn’t around,
    did it make a sound ?

    Since the Coast Guard isn’t here anymore, will they investigate this sinking ?

    Seems like something they should do.
    Or be involved in.
    Or do we call Boat OSHA ???

  12. Regardless of all the divers on the boat, where it came from or if they were paid to be there,
    One person had one Job !!

    That is to control the boat !

    Check everything. Ensure all aboard were supposed to be there. Oversee the complete function of transporting these rescue people to where they needed to be. One Job !!!!

    I’m sure that whichever agency controlled and stored the boat, they had a list of personnel that were trained and authorized to do that one job. And when the first person on the list wasn’t available the next person took control. And on down the line.

    If it was as simple as a drain plug, or any other failure to pre trip the boat, then not only should that person be fired, they need to be identified for all to know. The only way problems get fixed is for the problem maker to be called out so the next person doesn’t make the same mistake.

    You had one job

  13. Forgetting to check the drain plug is a very common mistake. There’s not a smoking gun in this story, so the best anyone can do is speculate. Did someone take the boat out for a test run and scrape a rock? Is the boat under watchful security 24/7? Inquiring minds want to know.

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