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Saratoga Springs » When two fishermen ran into trouble last week on Utah Lake, the city's Fire Department sprang into action.
Firefighters on personal watercraft made their way through choppy water and high winds at the Sarasota Springs Marina to the two anglers, who became stranded a half-mile offshore when the engine on their small boat quit. The rescuers took the two men onto their watercraft and traveled a short distance, then transferred them to a state park ranger's boat, which had just arrived.
The waves were big, but the firefighters reached the men before the boat overturned, said Saratoga Springs Fire Chief Tim Hay. "They were lucky."
The rescue was successful, but Hay and his firefighters want to be even more efficient: The department is trying to raise money for a boat of its own.
"We just want to have the capability to make an immediate rescue," Hay said. "We'd like to have something that we can get in the water quickly."
Now, the department uses personal watercraft, which are on loan from the Utah County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's search-and-rescue team can help but a boat might be on the other side of the lake. Occasionally, a park ranger boat is available.
Hay said the department doesn't want anything fancy, just a small used jet boat that can handle the waves and also get into the shallow parts of Utah Lake. He's eyeing ones that are eight- to
The cost is estimated at $13,000 to $14,000. So far the boat fund has about $2,000, which was raised from donations and a bake sale sponsored by a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Saratoga Springs borders about 20 miles of the northwest shoreline of Utah Lake, which is the state's largest freshwater body of water. Boating and fishing are popular activities there. City firefighters are called out to the lake about a half dozen times a year for water rescues, according to Hay. The incidents have included personal watercraft accidents and capsized boats.
The department has been growing with Saratoga Springs, which was incorporated in 1997 and has an estimated population of approximately 16,000.
Six new people were hired effective this month, bringing the total force to seven full-time firefighters, including Hay, and 26 part-time firefighters. They fight fires, provide ambulance service and carry out rescues.
There's one fire station on the north end of town, just west of the crossroads at 995 East and 1200 North, but there ware plans to build a second one in the southern part in a few years. The department has two fire engines, two brush trucks and one ambulance.
And soon, the firefighters hope, a boat.
To donate or for more information, call the Fire Department at 801-766-6505.
