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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, June 17, 2016 | 10 Search-and-rescue leads to TOWARF safety reminder by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff The Town of Oakville's Water Air Rescue Force (TOWARF) is reminding people of the importance of boating safety after pulling a deceased fisherman from Lake Ontario earlier this week. The Oakville Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit was called into action Monday (June 13) at 2:30 a.m., to assist with a search-and-rescue operation, which had been initiated the previous evening after two Toronto fishermen failed to return to shore by noon as expected. The pair had left Toronto's Bluffers Park Marina at 8 a.m. Sunday (June 12) in a 17-foot fishing vessel and were due back at noon. They were still missing as of Monday. Twenty minutes after receiving the call for help, TOWARF volunteers assembled and departed from Oakville Harbour. "TOWARF was tasked to assist a Hercules C-130 (aircraft) by running a line with a commence search point approximately 10 nautical miles offshore from Oakville Harbour and heading in a roughly northeast direction along the major axis of the lake for 29 nautical miles," said TOWARF Vice Commander John Bridge, who was in the 27-foot rescue boat out of Oakville that morning. TOWARF Commander Rick Bee and Search Master Cliff Feehan were also on board while The Town of Oakville Water Air Rescue Force (TOWARF) is reminding people of boat safety after it was involved in the search-and-rescue operation for two Toronto boaters, who lost their lives in Lake Ontario, last weekend. | Oakville Beaver file photo Communications Chief David Hoff manned the radio from shore. Bridge noted several hours into the search, at 6:05 a.m., they were contacted by a fishing boat, which reported it had found a person in the water. TOWARF relayed the co-ordinates of the fishing vessel to Prescott Coast Guard and was directed to the scene where a Toronto Police Marine Unit retrieved the individual who was ultimately pronounced dead. Shortly after, at 6:40 a.m., the Hercules contacted TOWARF and directed it to a second person found in the water. The vessel was guided with smoke markers dropped by the aircraft. "The person in the water was brought on board the rescue boat with vital signs absent," said Bridge. "CPR was performed and the AED (automated external defibrillator) was used while in transit to Bluffers Park Marina where the individual was transferred to Toronto EMS." This man was also later pronounced dead at a Toronto hospital. Bridge said it is hard to say exactly what happened to lead to the death of the two men, but said Sunday's rough water was probably a factor. He called on residents to check the weather before they consider going out on a body of water like Lake Ontario. "People look outside and say, `Oh, look at this. It's lovely. Let's go out on the lake,'" said Bridge. "In just two hours, conditions can completely change." He also called on people to always wear life jackets and ensure they fit and are put on properly and secured. Bridge also said people need to be prepared in the event their boat capsizes. He said even though it is June, the water temperature of the area the fishermen were found was only 9C, which means hypothermia becomes a problem fairly quickly. He said boaters should have cell phones with them, but should seal those cellphones in plastic bags so, in the event the boat tips over, the bag with the cell phone will float and the person can get it and call for help. Other tips include dressing for the weather and making sure there is enough fuel in the boat before leaving. "There's a little piece of silver paper you can take out or a card, so if it is sunny, you can use it as a reflector to get people's attention," said Bridge. "For us, it is common sense. For the boater who just goes out now and again, these are things they don't think of," he said. THE SUMMER HEAT IS COMING NOW IS THE TIME TO REPLACE YOUR FURNACE AND AIR CONDITIONER! $ UP TO W IN REbATES CASH COOL 15 IER 1,7IT H CARR APPLEBY SYSTEMS Delivering Home Comfort from our family to yours sinCe 1967 *Limited Time offer. O.A.C. See store for details. 10 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY* We Service All Makes of Central Air Conditioners and Gas Furnaces LE B A U VAL PON COU& SAVE CLIP Count on the professionals to ensure your system keeps you cool all summer long. Have a system tune-up on your furnace, air conditioner and or fireplace and receive up to $45.00 off. Limited time offer and cannot be combined with any other offer. MAINTENANCE OFFER · 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE · QUALIFIED MECHANICS · QUALITY WORKMANSHIP APPLEBY SYSTEMS FIREPLACE, HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS SHOWROOM 2086 Speers Rd. Oakville Mon - Fri 8AM - 5PM Saturday 11AM - 4PM SHOWROOM PHONE 24 hr hotline OAKVILLE 905-825-1893 BURLINGTON 905-335-3203 HAMILTON 905-540-9153 905-825-1929 www.applebysystems.ca