Gloucester Coast Guard, fire department recognized for diver rescue
Story and photos by Petty Officer Second Class Luke Pinneo
GLOUCESTER, Mass. - A three-man Coast Guard crew and Gloucester fireman were cited for heroic service at the Coast Guard station here Tuesday.
The four were honored for rescuing Ted Barnes, a diver whose air and tending lines became entangled in a fishing boat's propeller in Gloucester, Thursday.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Dale G. Gabel, the First District commander, presented Letters of Commendation to Coast Guard Second Class Petty Officers John C. Brooks and Martin T. Harris and Seaman Jason R. Beeker and a Meritorious Public Service award to Jeffrey Knaak of Gloucester Fire Department's Ice Rescue Team.
"Our partnerships with local responders is critical," said Gabel.
Gabel said in all the Coast Guard does, it is done more safely with the help of other agencies.
Fire fighter Knaak, the first to Barnes's aid, agrees. He said once on scene he was confident knowing the Coast Guard was responding too.
"They're a dedicated group of individuals, they know how to do their jobs and they're going to have your back," he said.
Once the Coast Guard crew arrived, providing a waterside platform, Knaak entered the 37-degree water to free Barnes. Knaak said Barnes was fully submerged and barely conscious with only his face above water.
"Brooks gave me his survival knife and I cut the line," Knaak said. Beeker and Harris pulled Barnes and Knaak aboard their 25-foot rescue boat and took the diver to the station pier, where he was airlifted to the hospital.
"Without everyone there, it probably would not have transpired the way it did," said Knaak. He said all the factors - the timely distress call and both agencies quickly getting on scene and cooperating - contributed to the rescue.
"If there had been a breakdown in any of those variables, it might have been a recovery mission rather than a rescue," he said.
At the ceremony, the four stood tall before the entire crew of Station Gloucester and other Coast Guard officers, Gloucester Fire Chief Barry McKay, and friends and family as their citations were read aloud.
Gabel personally pinned the men's awards onto their shirts.
"It's cool to be recognized, but I was just doing my job," said Harris.
He said the credit goes to Knaak.
"He took the brunt of it," Harris said. "That water was cold and he jumped right in."
He said having other professionals on scene makes all the difference in some rescues.
"When you go out there, you don't know what you're going to get," he said.
Harris said all Coast Guard members are trained as first responders with basic first aid. Some are trained as basic emergency medical technicians, but not paramedics.
"It's a lot more comforting having a paramedic on scene," he said. "It just gives us more confidence when we get out there."
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