On Sunday, first responders from the Onset Fire Department used their Neoteric Workhorse hovercraft to rescue 10 deer that had fallen through the ice at Long Beach Point in Wareham, Massachusetts ...
Video by David G. Curran, Satellite News Service
This rescue illustrates the longevity of Neoteric hovercraft. Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald explains, “This is a hovercraft we built in 1990, still in service and still performing successful rescues. And when salt water freezes, it’s darn cold!”
Wareham officials said this type of rescue operation “is risky for emergency personnel, especially on unstable frozen saltwater.” And, statistically, the most frequent victims in ice rescue operations are animals, children, ice fishermen, skaters, snowmobilers – and first responders.
This is why hovercraft are an essential vehicle for ice rescues. A hovercraft is the only vehicle that can fly easily over thin or broken ice; other ice rescue equipment requires solid ice at least 5 inches thick. But a hovercraft flies 9 inches above the surface, keeping first responders above the danger, not in it.
This is not the first time a Neoteric hovercraft has come to the aid of the deer population. Last year a Neoteric HoverTrek™ rescued three exhausted deer stranded for days on the ice of Albert Lea Lake in Minnesota. Watch the video ...
