Lavallette Acquires Groundbreaking Sonar Device for Water Rescues, Trains Hard All Season

A Lavallette Fire Company vehicle rushes to a water rescue (left); the AquaEye device (right). (File Photos)

Lavallette firefighters, rescuers and lifeguards have been busy this summer, responding to dozens of calls both in the ocean and Barnegat Bay, while training on new equipment the borough has purchased in recent years. The borough has also received, through a grant, an innovative piece of equipment that can scan acres of water to find missing persons.

This week’s borough council meeting included a report from Fire Chief Michael Hajisafari, who highlighted the acquisition of a new device called the AquaEye. Manufactured by Canadian defense contractor VodaSafe, the device can drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to locate a person who has disappeared beneath the surface of the water using a combination of sonar and artificial intelligence. The device, which costs about $6,000, was acquired to the borough through a grant from the Gary Sinise Foundation.

AquaEye works by immersing the electronic unit below the surface of the water, at which point a trained operator activates the sonar and ultrasound features to take a “picture” of a wide swath of the waterway. The device’s AI technology works rapidly to analyze the data and return a location where a swimmer or boater may be trapped below. The device can scan 8,000 square meters of water in under five minutes, while weighing just 3-pounds. Fully charged, a single device can conduct a search for eight hours.

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Meanwhile, Lavallette firefighters teamed up with the borough’s lifeguard staff to train the guards in the use of the borough’s new personal watercraft to conduct rescues in the surf. The latest round of training took place July 5, Hajisafari said.

So far this season, firefighters have responded to 66 calls, including a boat that was in distress in the bay. In that incident, Hajisafari said in his report, the department deployed its jet-ski and located the accident victim virtually “immediately.” EMTs from the Lavallette First Aid Squad were on the shore waiting, and ultimately brought the victim to a local hospital.

The department has also responded to a number of fires in homes and vehicles, as well as a mulch pile.

Lavallette Fire, as well as the First Aid Squad, are actively recruiting new members. Those interested in joining the fire department can e-mail Lavallettefd@gmail.com and those interested in joining the first aid squad can call the captain at 732-793-7390 or download a membership form online.