Hyannis Firefighters Previously Trained for Ferry Response Before Incident

HYANNIS – The first responders who arrived on scene last Friday at the Steamship Authority ferry grounding in Hyannis had trained repeatedly for a similar situation.

Acting Hyannis Fire Chief Dean Melanson said members of his department actually did a disaster training in the past on the Steamship Authority vessel “Eagle”.

And many of the things they did during that training were utilized during Friday night’s operation.

They’ve also done extensive training with the U.S. Coast Guard over the past several years.

“We’re trying to keep up with the training, trying to keep ourselves on point, we had rescue swimmers deployed, divers deployed, so there’s a variety of different methodologies that we had to train for and I think the training paid off,” said Melanson.

The Hyannis fire boat was the first piece of equipment to arrive on scene when the “Iyanough” struck the breakwater off Hyannis.

“We planned out, using our eyes on the water as well as the ability of the sector command, to come up with a plan to do a safe evacuation of the patients, both by the air and by sea,” said Melanson.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

The Iyanough struck the breakwater late Friday night, prompting a large-scale operation to remove the 57 people stranded on board, including nine who were injured, three seriously.

The incident happened shortly after 9:30 p.m.

The boat was due into Hyannis at 9:45 p.m.

Rough seas hampered the rescue efforts, forcing the crew and passengers to stay on the crippled vessel for several hours while rescue crews devised an evacuation plan.

A Coast Guard helicopter responded to the scene to airlift the most seriously injured people to waiting ambulances at Barnstable Municipal Airport.

Barnstable Police, Hyannis Fire and other local agencies were also on scene to assist with passenger evacuations.

The aircrew also airlifted ten uninjured passengers who were unable to navigate the slippery rocks.

Response boat crews from Coast Guard Stations Woods hole, Chatham and Brant Point transferred the remaining passengers and crew to safety.

By MATT PITTA and JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter