Bowley's Quarters Volunteer Fire Campaigns For New Rescue Vessel
BOWLEY's QUARTERS, Md. (WJZ) — They are known as Marine Emergency Team 21 and they work out the Bowley's Quarters Volunteer Fire Department.
Each year they spend thousands of hours on the water, responding to emergencies and making rescues, but now their 14-year-old marine rescue boat, the Miss Linda, has reached the end of the line.
"It definitely has some wear and tear. I think the best way to describe her is 'tired', Marine Unit 217 had a life expectancy of about 10 years when she was purchased, and after 14 seasons it's definitely time for retirement," said Capt. Shannon Stallings of Marine Emergency Team 21.
Mechanical breakdowns are happening almost every day.
"Two nights ago returning from a mission we had engine failure," Stallings said. "We're not sure of the details yet, but as you can see the vessel is not in the water, it's currently sitting on blocks for repairs,"
The team needs a state of the art rescue vessel. The cost is $276,000. Their current campaign is to raise $50,000 to match grant money they're scheduled to receive.
"So we're calling on our waterfront business owners, our waterfront communities and anyone who just believes in what we do to help us reach our next step in this $50,000 goal," Stallings said.
Marine Emergency Team 21 covers about 90 square miles of the upper Chesapeake by including the areas around Poole's and Hart-Miller Islands.
"This often means the difference between life and death, there are sea conditions that can stir up on any given day which makes this current vessel extremely dangerous for responders to be in let alone victims," Stallings said.
In order to make a contribution, you can go to the team's website.
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