Sealegs amphibious boats have long been prized in the rescue sector as the perfect boat for emergency response, due to the shorter response time they provide to remote locations that require access via water.
West Lake Fire Department in Erie Pennsylvania is one Fire Department in particular who are more than impressed by the capabilities of their boat, and the support of our team.
Prior to owning a Sealegs, Westlake were limited with launch sites, so when a water rescue came in they were forced to launch bay side even if the call was lake side. With their water rescue team running roughly 30 water rescues a year, this was highly problematic.
In July 2017, Assistant Chief Dominic Quadri wanted to solve this problem and serve the community more efficiently by cutting response times to water emergencies, so he went on the hunt for a Sealegs.
Having heard positive feedback from a nearby department with a Sealegs and having experienced the benefits of that boat, he knew Sealegs was the way to go.
After discussing the various benefits of each model with the USA sales team, they came to a decision that the 7.1m Sport RIB would be the best fit for the application, and were blown away by the number of customization options.
What they initially thought would be a difficult process, was a breeze with the help of our Sealegs USA team "Josh was awesome, he kept me up to date every step of the way. I couldn't have asked for a better sales person" - Asst Chief Dominic Quadri.
At first the 7.1m was very intimidating due to the initial look of the controls, but this quickly changed once they received their training and understood just how easy the Sealegs was to use. "Hugh was very detailed on everything he went over and had answers for anything we asked him," says Asst Chief Dominic Quadri.
Everyone at West Lake was blown away by the capabilities of the boat once they had completed their training, and it has proven to be invaluable to the department, cutting response time in half from fire house to scene.
"I had a vision in my mind of what I wanted it to look like, and once I saw it in person it blew my picture away. I couldn't believe how it turned out. It's amazing. The boat handles very well, and is a very smooth ride any where you sit on the boat," says Quadri.
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