New Rescue Device

An article  in yesterday's Santa Rosa CA PressDemocrat forwarded to me by a retired USMC major (who just happens to be my brother-in-law) alerted me to a new rescue product on the market: The Mustang Survival Rescue Stick. The article, with some minor editing by me, tells the story.

Mendocino Coast deputies are being armed with a new device to help them save people from drowning. About the size of a dog-throwing stick, the contraption opens into a horseshoe-shaped life vest when it hits the water.

"The aptly named "rescue stick" is compact and has a handle, allowing would-be rescuers to throw the device farther and with greater accuracy than other lifesaving flotation devices," said Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman. "And, at just 14 inches long and weighing about 1 pound, it takes up very little room in a squad car."

"Had coast deputies been carrying rescue sticks Nov. 29, they might have been able to save a San Francisco physics professor who plunged 20 feet from the Mendocino Headlands bluffs into the churning ocean," he said.

"When our deputy arrived, the gentleman's head and arms were still above the water, and he was waving," Allman said.

But he was 100 feet from land and there were 14-foot swells.

"You couldn't send someone in or they're going to drown too," Allman said.

Search-and-rescue teams, including a Coast Guard cutter and helicopter crew, attempted to rescue the man, but they lost sight of him as he slipped under the water.

Allman said he hopes the new device will reduce the number of drowning deaths in his jurisdiction.

Mustang Survival, manufacturer of the rescue stick, says it can be thrown up to 100 feet -- twice as far as a ring buoy or rope bag -- with accuracy.

It does not include a rope to pull the victim to safety. It's intended to keep potential drowning victims afloat until rescuers can reach them.

In July 2007, the device was lauded by the National Marine Manufacturers Association for its innovation.

Several will be given to coastal state parks patrol officers, and Allman envisions the sticks being stored -- much like fire extinguishers -- at shops located near the Mendocino bluffs, from which a number of people have fallen over the years.

Seattle's Fisheries Supply's catalogue lists the device, describing it as being able to be thrown three times further than a typical rope bag or life-ring - - up to 150 feet!

Downsides? With no attached line, once you throw the stick it is gone. Probably best to have two or three sticks on hand. Also, the rescue stick has not yet been officially approved by the USCG. 

However, it is certainly a good investment in safety, well worth seriously considering.

And to my source, Semper Fideles!