Improperly Discarded Beacon Causes Large-Scale Water Search

PORTSMOUTH, RI—The U.S. Coast Guard and members of the Narragansett Bay Marine Task Force launched a major search effort in Portsmouth waters on Sunday only to discover the distress call was false.

Thankfully, no real emergency occurred on the water as crews from Portsmouth, Bristol, Warren, Fall River, Swansea, Somerset, Tiverton and Little Compton searched off Common Fence Point before they located the source of the signal: an accidentally dropped and then trashed emergency beacon from a boat docked in a marina in Bristol.

The Coast Guard said that the distress call came in at around 12:30 p.m. The cause turned out to be "an improperly disposed" electronic beacon.

“Every summer our people respond out to multiple false calls on the bay; it is very frustrating for our responders. For every crew that is out on the water there is unmanned fire truck or ambulance back on land," said Portsmouth Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael P. O'Brien. "Our resources are depleted and response to actual emergency will be delayed or diminished during searches. Some of these false calls are malicious, some are due to poor judgment, and others are due to 'good intent' reports. All searched represent an expense to taxpayers, risk to our responders and wear and tear on our equipment."

Portsmouth joined the search at around 1:20 p.m. after the distress signal was received.

The signal, an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, or EPIRB, is used by mariners to alert search and rescue teams that they're in distress.

The signal originated from the vessel "Summer Office" in an area in Mount Hope Bay, O'Brien said.

The Coast Guard dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk crew from Air Station Cape Cod and a 45-foot response boat from Station Castle Hill in Newport.

Once the vessel was located and determined to be safe, all searchers responded to their communities.

Firefighters and first responders hope the public uses common sense while out on the water.

And while false calls consume resources, O'Brien said that it's part of the job and responders will launch after every call.

"The first time we disregard one of these reports it will turn out to be an actual incident," he said. "Hopefully with a little awareness, the number of false calls will be decreased."

The Coast Guard said that the investigation determined that the signal came from the disposed EPIRB "that was accidentally dropped while being handled."

“EPIRBs are vital life saving equipment, but when they are not properly maintained, false distress is signaled and unnecessary searches are conducted,” said Lt. John Mansolillo, command duty officer at the First Coast Guard District command center. “Batteries must be removed from EPIRBs when they are decommissioned."

He said EPIRB registrations need to be updated every two years and when transferred to a new owner or taken out of service.

EPIRBs can be registered for free at NOAA’s Beacon Registration website.