Alameda Fire Department to Review Emergency Protocols

CORRECTION: The original version of this story was title "Alameda County Fire Department to Review Emergency Protocols." That was incorrect. The Alameda County Fire Department did not respond to the incident described in the article. 

By Bay City News Service

The Alameda Fire Department is reviewing its emergency protocols after a suicidal man drowned Monday in front of police and firefighters who did not assist him because of expired water rescue certifications.

Raymond Zack, 53, waded about 150 meters into the frigid water at Crown Memorial Beach, in the 2100 block of Shoreline Drive, at about 11:30 a.m., authorities said.

He drowned while emergency crews waited about an hour for a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to return from another mission, police said. The water was too shallow for a rescue boat to reach him.

Fire department paramedics on the shore were not permitted to rescue Zack because they were not certified in shore-based and surface-water rescue, the fire department's acting deputy chief of operations, Daren Olson, said.

 "It was a very difficult task for our members to watch the situation unfold," he said. "That is not how police officers and firefighters are geared. We're geared to take action and improve a situation."

A good Samaritan eventually pulled Zack, unconscious, from the water, Alameda police said. He was taken a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The fire department is revisiting its water rescue policies and asking the City Council for funding to revive its water-rescue program, which was suspended in 2009 because of budget shortcomings, Olson said.

The certification is basically lifeguard training and would cost between $20,000 and $100,000, he said. The department will bring it up at tonight's City Council meeting.

Olson said a paramedic who violated the fire department's policies would not necessarily be punished, but he and police said the emergency responders acted appropriately on Monday despite the tragic outcome.

Zack was listed as 6 feet 3 inches tall and 280 pounds, and first responders knew he was suicidal, police Lt. Sean Lynch said.

Although Zack wasn't armed, police had no way of knowing whether he had a weapon or would have tried to a fight a rescuer, putting them both in danger, Lynch said.

 "Grabbing an arm and tugging him to shore is not only maybe not an option, but perhaps recklessly dangerous," he said.

 It was a frustrating and difficult situation, he added.

"Certainly we always review our policies in the wake of any critical incident," he said.