During the afternoon of July 18, 2000, two friends were kayaking in the Tariffville Gorge section of the Farmington River which was swollen from recent rain. The two-person kayak capsized dumping both of the occupants into the river. One of the friends managed to safely make it to shore and then commenced to search for his friend. The towns of East Granby and Bloomfield initially responded to the 911 call for a missing kayaker, and other agencies including the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company and Connecticut State Police Dive Team were requested through mutual aid. It didn't take long for it to circulate that it was believed to be a Hartford City Firefighter who was missing in the river.

Because of Simsbury's resources and experience with operating in this section of the river, a unified command structure and accountability system were established with the East Granby units, and Simsbury took the lead in operation. Simsbury's two Marine units along with other agencies began to patrol the river, search teams scoured the banks on foot and a watch was placed on the route 187 bridge.

Rope and pulley system used for positioning the dive boat.

The State Police Dive Team, who usually does their own topside support (boats, ropes, etc.) and are particular as to who they work with, quickly enlisted the aid of Simsbury once they saw their rope handling skills in action. Through a system of pulleys and ropes stretched across the river, Simsbury was able to provide a means of positioning the State Police dive boat almost anywhere in the river in a stationary manner from which to conduct dive operations from.

	The State Police Dive Team searches the bottom of the Farmington River.

The State Police divers began to sweep the bottom of the rapids in search of the missing kayaker. This operation consisted of a weighted diver who was tethered to a line which was held by a crewman on the stern of the boat. Should there be trouble, the crewman could quickly release the line, or the diver could separate the tether through a quick-release mechanism. The tether line also served as a gauge to help define the search grid on the bottom.

As the daylight began to give way to night, search operations were halted for the day and all crews were recalled to the command post. Simsbury Assistant Chief Michael Jepeal gave an emotional debriefing to the assembled personnel. It was confirmed that it was a Hartford City Firefighter who was missing. Further operations would have to wait until morning.

Manpower was plentiful on the second day of operations.		Captain Dan Nolan of Hartford's Training Division addresses the recruit class which had just began that week.

Word of the accident spread throughout the ranks of Hartford Fire Department and their members turned-out in force to assist with the search, so much so that it seemed like every off-duty Hartford firefighter reported to the river for duty the next morning. The HFD Training Division also brought their entire recruit class to help search the banks and to provide any other manpower assistance that may be needed. HFD sent other resources as well and Chief of Hartford Fire Department Charles Teale came to lend his support to all those engaged in the effort.

	Hartford's recruit class goes to work placing the State Trooper dive boat in the river.		Units were operating over a large geographical region. Properly tracking all personnel was a daunting task.

A strict accountability system was enforced and necessary due to the large influx of manpower that morning, and an eagerness to participate in the effort. Wayne Bindas from Granby (also a retired HFD Training Chief) and Lieutenant Gary Wilcox from Simsbury did an outstanding job of enforcing the accountability policy and tracking all the personnel from the numerous agencies who were spread-out across the area engaged in the search effort.

Hartford Fire Department's Rehabilitation Unit.

The incident grew to include over two dozen separate agencies including the fire departments of Bloomfield, East Granby, Hartford and Simsbury, police units from Bloomfield and Hartford, the State Police Dive Team, the North Central Regional Police Dive team, and the Department of Environmental Protection, just to name a few. Simsbury retained the lead role in the incident even though the operation was outside of Simsbury's jurisdiction. This section of the river was bordered by East Granby on one side, and Bloomfield on the other.

Command was handled by Chief of the Department Michael Juda (also a HFD firefighter) and Deputy Chief Kevin Kowalski, both from Simsbury. Chief Juda also functioned as a liaison with the other agencies and Chief Kowalski handled the huge logistical operation with the help of the Simsbury Ladies Auxiliary who provided much needed water and food to all the teams in the field. Simsbury Assistant Chief Michael Jepeal oversaw the rope operations with the assistance of Captain Leonard Mathiason. Other members from Simsbury were assigned to crews to help guide water and land search operations, lead rope handling teams and facilitate interagency communications in the field.

Connecticut Canine Search and Rescue.		Simsbury's Marine 1 was used to search the river and ferry divers.

Sweeps of the river were conducted with helicopters, and with marine units from multiple agencies using both boats and personal watercraft. Cadaver dogs were also used to try and pinpoint any possible locations of the victim as it was believed they were still submerged. Foot patrols continued throughout the day and personnel were rotated in and out of all teams.

	Stern Lines helped stabilize the dive boat. A safety line was always in place for self-rescue should someone fall into the river.		Lt. Milt McDonald and other personnel handle one of the stern lines.

The North Central Dive Team searched the calmer and shallower areas of the river in two-person teams, using rope tethers to help define the search grid. The State Police divers continued to work their way down the river through the rapids from the point of the accident. Once a section of the river had been searched by the divers, the rope-and-pulley system would have to be broken-down, moved and re-established to help the State Police continue their sweeps of the rapids.

Chief Juda (left), flanked by FF Mariano Cortez, Father Steven Foley and Hartford Chief Charles Teale, discusses the incident at the debriefing.		As daylight fades away, Father Steven Foley, Chaplain for the Hartford Fire Department, closes the debriefing with a prayer.

Crews worked tenaciously the entire day in an effort to located the victim, but to no avail. Once more as the daylight faded, everyone was recalled to the command post and operations were halted for the night. A debriefing was held and it was announced that search operations would once again continue the following morning. Father Steven Foley, Chaplain for the HFD, led the gathering in a prayer. With every last person operating at the incident accounted for, everyone was released for the day.

	Personnel work to relocated the rope lines.		The dive boat is portaged to below the dam.

Many of the same people reported for duty the following morning on July 20th. Hartford's recruit class along with many off-duty HFD firefighters once again came to help find their brother. Again, water and land patrols were organized, rope handling teams were set on both sides of the river, and the State Police and North Central Regional dive teams went to work probing the bottom of the Farmington River.

By mid-day, the entire section of rapids in the Tariffville Gorge had been searched by the dive teams. Teams started to break for lunch and the command staff began to discuss what would be the appropriate time to call-off all operations. It was decided to at least continue until darkness once again brought all efforts to a close.

Hartford Chief Charles Teale talks with one of his firefighters while observ-ing search efforts.		A Hartford firefighter solemnly contemplates at the edge of the river.

When operations restarted in the afternoon, the rope system was no longer needed because the topography of the river changed immediately after the section of rapids. The south-flowing river spilled out of the turbulence and into a large cove of calmer water. From here, the river flowed east out of the cove where it immediately split around an island continuing south around both sides for some distance before both channels converged.

It was at this transition between the cove and the island that the State Police Dive Team started their search in the afternoon. The remnant of a concrete structure was on the land just to the north which provided an anchor point to tether the dive boat to. By using a figure-eight for a brake, a single firefighter could now handle the dive boat's bow line. Lateral positioning of the boat was not needed as the main channel around the island was only twenty feet wide at best.

The State Police divers went to work sweeping the area. About a half-hour into the operation a diver was sweeping the area of transition. Suddenly the victim surfaced in the vicinity of the diver and floated a few hundred feet down the channel before being recovered by one of the marine units.

All personnel were immediately recalled and enough time was given so everyone could relocate to the recovery site. Crewmates from the victim's fire station carried him up the bank and to the Medical Examiner's vehicle as everyone saluted.

Afterwards as the rope was being repacked, two Hartford firefighters walked back down to the river. One pointed to the where the victim had surfaced and with tears in his eyes said, "There". His buddy placed his arm around him and replied in a comforting manner, "Okay, lets go home".

The incident unfolded over three days and became a model for interagency cooperation. The incident command system functioned exactly as it had been designed to, especially in regards to the unified command and the accountability system. Chief Teale of Hartford Fire Department came the next business meeting of the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company to personally thank them for their efforts.

The Tariffville Gorge section of the Farmington River is very dangerous. Even though kayakers are always running the rapids, warnings are posted for swimmers to stay out of it. This wasn't the first time the Gorge has claimed a victim, nor would it be the last. Many aspects of the incident were considered a success, and valuable lessons were learned and experience gained. It is terribly unfortunate however these were gained because of such a tragedy. Hopefully what was learned during those three heartbreaking days can be applied to prevent future losses.

While this incident unfolded over the course of three days, the pictures on this page were all taken on July 19, 2000. All photographs were taken by Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company photographer Ken Beliveau. Ken Beliveau is also a Captain in the East Hartford Fire Department and a member of the Connecticut Fire Photographers Association.