By Vivian Ho
The San Francisco Chronicle
ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Alameda Fire Department bought a second rescue boat this week in an effort to improve the agency’s water-rescue team, whose absence was blamed for the death of a man in May.
Raymond Zack, 52, waded fully clothed about 150 yards from the shore of Robert Crown Memorial State Beach on May 30 in an apparent suicide.
Police and firefighters watched from shore as Zack stood neck-deep in 54-degree water for 31 minutes until a bystander retrieved his motionless body. He died of hypothermia, his family said.
Interim Fire Chief Mike D’Orazi told city officials after the incident that his staff couldn’t rescue Zack because the department’s water-rescue program had been defunded.
An independent review conducted by former state Fire Marshal Ruben Grijalva rebuked the city for not having a rescue team. By the time his report came out last month, funding had already been restored.
The Fire Department bought a boat in June, and nearly 60 firefighters have taken either boat operator or rescue swimmer training. Firefighters have used the boat for about six rescue efforts.
The department bought a second boat for about $12,000 Monday and is getting it ready for use, D’Orazi said. The boat, a 15-foot inflatable craft with an outboard motor, should be ready within a week, he said.
Dolores Berry, Zack’s foster mother, said the new boat and restored rescue training will make the island city safer.
“We’re surrounded with water, for crying out loud,” she said. “It’s necessary that we have something to protect us.”
Berry, 84, said her son suffered from depression. “There was no reason for him to die,” she said, her voice breaking. “I still can’t get over being mad, and I know I shouldn’t be. But I can’t.”
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