Indian River County Fire Rescue played key role in plane crash rescue
A team of firefighter paramedics with the Indian River County Fire Rescue helped get the three victims of a plane crash Sunday night to safety
By Jade Jarvis
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VERO BEACH, Florida (WPBF) — A team of firefighter paramedics with the Indian River County Fire Rescue helped get the three victims of a plane crash Sunday night to safety, some literally jumping into the water to assist them onto their boat.
“It was a lot of adrenaline. Everyone, we didn’t know what to expect, if we’re going to find the plane floating or if we’re going to find no one, we don’t know,” firefighter paramedic Andrew Sellers said.
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Sellers was one of five crew members from Fire Rescue Station 2 on the boat and jumped into the water to save them.
“These people have been treading water for over an hour, so they’re going to be tired. Just wanted to get to them, get them on a float and get them over to the boat so we can get them in as quick as possible and get them out of the water,” Sellers said.
Sellers was joined by his team at Fire Rescue Station 2, all trying to navigate some challenging circumstances.
“The hardest thing is that it was at night. Obviously, that raises a difficult task there. So, the ocean conditions were flat. There was no wind. Definitely helped us out a lot,” Lt. Matthew Bloch said.
Their extensive training kicked in during the rescue.
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“These guys go through rigorous training. I used to be part of the dive team myself. I know what it’s like, and it’s almost Navy Seal training. It’s pretty rigorous. So, these guys are, pretty, pretty good at what they do,” Battalion Chief Wayne Howard said.
But even though many are now calling them heroes, they said it’s all just a part of the job.
“It’s really not about us. This is why we sign up to do the job. Great outcome. Couldn’t have been any better. A lot of things played into that, but a lot of agencies’ support, a lot of help there. So definitely just the best outcome we could have had. And it’s just another day for us. So, we’re grateful everybody was safe,” Bloch said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is overseeing the investigation into the crash.
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