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The Firefighter Hamburg Water Rescue Unit in service
After many years of planning , the new Marine 1 has become a reality . Thank you to all who have supported us over the years and helped us make this happen . Next up ... to raise the funds for the final piece of the new boat , a FLIR system that will allow us to have “ Night Vision ” with thermal imaging technology .
Shortly after the official “ In Service ” ceremony , we took the new Marine 1 out for training and ended up assisting the USCG on a call for a female who was seen floating in the Niagara River . Thankfully , this one was a good outcome . We will have a much bigger “ Blessing / Wet down ” in the spring time when we can actually launch at the Hamburg Beach and take our supporters out on the water and show you just what she can do . Also , a HUGE Thank you to the following people for making this happen :
• Our auxiliary members : for keeping the fundraising going .
• Town of Hamburg grant writer / manager , Mark Melewski : for keeping the grant alive !
• Gabe Casucci of 10 / 75 Emergency Vehicles : For the donation of lighting package
• Town of Hamburg Senior Dispatcher Sean Crotty : for the donation of the radios
• West Marine : for the deals on all the electronics
• Chief Chris Hull of the Big Tree VFC : for allowing us to use the Big Tree station as we prepared this boat by training and getting her in service .
• Past and present Hamburg Town Board Members But the most important ones to thank are : Leanne Powers of The Sunshine Style , who , along with her customers , helped raise close to $ 10,000 towards this purchase . And Supervisor Jim Shaw , who kept a promise made to a longtime friend and someone he has known since that someone ( me ) was a kid ….. Jim kept his promise when he ran for office , to help us make this dream come true . There were no politics involved , it was just a promise that he made to the unit and a promise he kept .