“On Wednesday, May 5, we received a call for drowning in a canal behind 3659 Northwest 17 Terrace at approximately 0244 hours. The original call was not correct. The caller is referencing the canal off 18th Avenue near the rear of another address. This required all of our units back out of a dead end road progress over to the correct location. Upon arrival Rescue 87… found one adult male on the back of a canal being assisted by BSO deputies already on scene. Deputies had initiated care by applying an AD performing chest compressions. Once our crews continued care, which was hampered by several factors, those being condition to the patient, numerous obstacles on the way to get to the patient, total darkness the backyard ultimately more obstacles that included the vehicle that was in disrepair and a boat trailer in front of the residence, which required a cooperative effort and by myself and other duties to clear path. Making things worse the crew had no information and the patient had a severe way compromise due to the amount of fluid in his lungs from the drowning. Rescue 87, Quint 87 crews led by the rescue supervisors should no hesitation or reservation in their approach to these obstacles and provide the highest level of care to this patient. The care was about a smooth and flawless I have seen in my career. There was a continuous communication by all, no breaking the continuity of care throughout the entire event. The assistance to BSO deputies on scene may ultimately made a huge difference in the outcome of this event. Upon arrival of the scene, the patient was unresponsive … and pulseless….Normally, I'm not part of this assignment, and I have only worked with them occasionally, when on overtime, so my experience with them is limited. However, I would like to add that this crew appeared to be cohesive professional and skilled the crew is I ever seen before, this is a credit to their officers and this department”.

Captain Jorge Ginzo