Buffalo PD URT Incident

[rhwestfall]

That section of the River is a utter nightmare with the current (yes folks, 10-17 knots!), odd back currents, "whirlpools", debris, etc.. On the "tame" side (Canadian) referenced above, there are divers routinely in there. Google YouTube videos.... It is interesting to see exhalation bubbles going DOWN!

We routinely dive this River, but I won't ever consider this stretch. A couple miles down, it splits, and also widens, so current is in the 1-4 knot range.

Many thanks to the divers that go there because they have to. And many thanks to those that were there to help.

 

[Paul R]

Buffalo dove all afternoon and evening the day of the incident, in addition to whatever training dives they had already completed. They were already in the water Saturday when we showed up and dove non-stop. We kept it going Sunday until the weather turned on us. Some dives were done on Monday but after a few hours everybody was out of the water because of terrible visibility. The shoreline and seawall were tended, single man down searches. Everything else was a drift dive. Many anomalies with sonar but all the investigative dives were negative. The guys from NYPD and NYSP were masters with sonar. The Niagara Regional Police never stopped running their camera (Unity Responsibility Loyalty). Unfortunately Craig just wasn't there. The frustration was thick but nobody slowed down.
All the support agencies were (are) awesome, especially BFD. They will always get a free pass and are off limits when it comes to firefighter jokes. The citizens of Buffalo are amazing, especially South Buffalo; very special people. The donations and gratitude never ended.
We spoke with many knowledgeable folks about the chance of resurfacing. Given the specifics of his gear and conditions, none believed he would for a while, if ever. Tuesday afternoon was a huge relief for everybody.
That's it. That's all I am prepared to share. Everything else is in the news.

 

[shurite7]

Paul, How far down river was Craig found from where he went into the water? From what I could gather online it seems he was about two miles down river.

 

[Paul R]

I do not think the river current is ripping at 10-15 knots. 4 knots is impossible to swim against. The Niagara River isn't much different from the St. Clair River farther upstream in the system. With that being said, this is a very rare situation that the comm/ tender line failed and the diver was lost. It makes me wonder if the harness, D rings, or whatever else the line was hooked into failed, ripping the diver away from the line. I take it that we do not know if things on the tenders side of the line worked or failed? As I assume for the Niagara, we are taught that unless if it a life threatening emergency, never ever surface in the middle of the river as boaters and ships may not see you.

Tbzep, in my experience in heavy current if you are not doing a drifting pendulum, the best that works for us is to be extremely heavy (not heavy enough so BCD won't work), keep as low to the bottom as possible, and use claws, hammers, stakes, and whatever else can be used to assist you fighting your way upstream.

Hi Jared. I apologize for not clarifying and explaining a couple things.
Indeed the river speed was what I wrote, at least according to the URT members, a local shop dive master and a few rec divers I met. You are right-there is no swimming against it.
I am not familiar with the St. Clair River so forgive my ignorance of it's characteristics.
As of this morning, nobody knows how or why the tending line broke.
For the search, the middle and American side were off limits to boat traffic. Boats with flashing blue lights made sure of that. And those boats moved well outside of our search areas when we entered that incredible body of water. The chase boats kept a fair distance until we surfaced.

Hopefully I answered your questions satisfactorily.

 

[Paul R]

Paul, How far down river was Craig found from where he went into the water? From what I could gather online it seems he was about two miles down river.

Yeah, a couple miles I guess. About 2,000'ish feet north of the international railroad bridge. The primary search area was just north of the Peace bridge right off of Broderick (sp?) Park.

 

[shurite7]

How was he found - diver searching, sonar, or spotted from the surface?

 

[Paul R]

Spotted on surface

 

[shurite7]

Spotted on surface

Thanks for answering. Was he on the surface or a spotter on the surface saw him below the surface on the bottom?

 

[rhwestfall]

From the newspaper, an object was seen. It was his fin(s).

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

This is so heart breaking. The end of watch call has me dissolved in tears. God bless you all, and thank you.