IPSWICH — Acting Police Chief Lt. Jonathan Hubbard and Fire Chief Paul Parisi report that the Ipswich Police and Fire Departments and other responding agencies rescued a man Friday evening off Crane Beach.
Around 6 p.m., 911 operators received a call from a man who was in the water about 100 to 200 feet from the beach. The man had been on a jet ski and somehow fell from it. He said he was treading water and needed assistance. Dispatchers used GPS based on the location of the cellphone to establish a search area.
Ipswich Fire and Ipswich Police both launched their marine units. The man was located by Ipswich Fire’s Marine Unit 1. The Massachusetts State Police Air Wing and Crane Beach rangers also assisted. U.S. Coast Guard and Gloucester Harbormaster assets were called out to the scene, but the man was rescued before they arrived.
“We want to thank our partner agencies for quickly responding to our request for assistance,” Acting Chief Hubbard said. “That was critical in this operation ending successfully.”
“I would like to praise the efforts of all first responders on scene,” Chief Parisi said. “Our crew did make the rescue, but I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the efforts of our dispatch team. Their fine work was why we were able to find him quickly. This could’ve been a much different story without their information and assistance.
“This incident underscores the importance of having redundant rescue teams. Ipswich Police and Fire work seamlessly together at incidents large and small to bring them to resolution.”
Ipswich Police and Fire would like to remind watergoers to avoid the water at present as Hurricane Lee is off the New England coast, leading to choppy seas and dangerous waves. In addition to being dangerous for swimmers and boaters, it also complicates rescue efforts.
“There were dangerous conditions on the water between the wave heights and wind,” Chief Parisi said. “I’m grateful to the firefighters and police officers who put themselves in harm’s way to make this rescue happen. Lt. Brett Emerson and Firefighter Michael Bonaiuto, who operated Marine 1, found the victim and brought him to safety.”
The man was transported by ambulance to a local hospital as a precautionary measure.