At 9:10 am on Saturday, The Center Moriches Fire Department and the Marine Incident Response Team was activated for a boat collision in the Moriches Inlet. Initial information reported one person in the water and a vessel taking on water.

Under a unified command agreement, the Westhampton Beach Fire Chief was the incident commander for the Marine Incident Response team and the incident in the Moriches Inlet.

Within 8 minutes of the initial call Fire Department Marine Units were on scene. Center Moriches Fire boat was first on scene and reported to command that everyone was out of the water. They also found an 18’ center console boat with damage to the port side of the boat.

The operator of the 18’ center console stated he was fishing in the Moriches Inlet when a larger boat was headed right for him. Just prior to the impact the occupant of the center console boat jumped into the cold waters of the Moriches Inlet to escape injury.

While the operator of the center console boat was evaluated by CMFD EMT’s the operator of the second vessel was checked on by other FD Marine Units.

The damaged boat was secured to Center Moriches FD Marine 26 and was brought back into the bay where they waited for Suffolk County Police Marine Mike to arrive.

The Marine Incident Response Team is a multi-agency team comprised of a special group of firefighters trained to respond to water-based emergencies. The team includes members from Center Moriches FD, East Moriches FD, Eastport FD, Mastic FD and Mastic Beach FD and Westhampton Beach FD.

Once activated the team works together to provide efficient, and effective resources to any incident on our local waterways.

Thanks to the support of these fire departments and their dedicated volunteers the Marine Incident Response Team is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to respond and provide emergency assistance on the water at a moment’s notice.