Allan (Buddy) deBettencourt was a teenager when he first joined the Oak Bluffs fire department; at the time his father also was a fireman. Buddy deBettencourt went on to serve 56 years, and with others was recognized in a ceremony last weekend.
Appointed acting chief 10 months ago, John Rose now has a permanent place as head of the town fire department. The vote by the five town selectmen was unanimous on Tuesday night, amid praise for Mr. Rose.
They drive the engines, rescue people, put out fires and know CPR. They have to be prepared for anything — a car under water, a person in cardiac arrest, or a family trapped inside a burning building. Or it could be a false alarm. Meet the Island's call firefighters.
Confirming the first promotions under a restructured force, the Oak Bluffs selectmen this week appointed two men to the upper ranks of the fire department.
Shawn Broadley was named deputy fire chief, and Manuel (Manny) Rose was appointed assistant fire chief.
A caravan-style car drove off the end of the Steamship Authority dock and was trapped underwater with four passengers inside.
This was the premise of a training scenario staged Sunday morning for the Oak Bluffs dive and rescue team.
“An elderly person had a medical event and they gunned it down the terminal,” said Oak Bluffs fire department acting chief John Rose, who conducted the dive team’s first car rescue drill.
Traci Monteith is afraid of heights but she loves depths. She’s been diving in Vineyard waters for more than 10 years, but only recently has she been working toward certification as an advanced diver on the Oak Bluffs fire department dive team. On a recent Thursday evening, she wet-suited up alongside two other members of the team for their first night dive.
An independent review of the Oak Bluffs fire department turned up a series of needed improvements, including better record keeping, clearer policies and procedures and improved communication between town and fire authorities.
If a patient at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital needs to go off-Island for further treatment at a mainland hospital, chances are the Oak Bluffs fire department will provide the lift. For more than 12 years the town fire department has been the primary transportation provider for the hospital, ferrying patients via ambulance to hospitals throughout New England and beyond. The off-Island transports provide both a vital service to the hospital and a financial boon to the town through a special purpose fund that is used to buy equipment and pay personnel.
