First responders strive for zero East County drownings this summer

Teamwork and public awareness is how local first responders plan to limit drownings in East Multnomah County this summer.

With warmer weather on the horizon, Gresham and Corbett Fire, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and American Medical Response are all collaborating on how to keep people safe along the many popular waterways, which can be deadly for even savvy swimmers.

AMR will have its lifeguards on duty at Glenn Otto Park beginning Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday, May 25.Gresham Fire has a new jet ski watercraft that allows for faster response times in the shallow waters of the Sandy River.The MCSO has a dive team that responds to both the Sandy and Columbia Rivers.Corbett Fire has a drone with thermal imaging that can locate swimmers, boaters and hikers at night.

And at all popular watering holes there are free life jackets to use, with child and adult sizes. The more than 100 rental life jackets are at Glenn Otto, Lewis and Clark and Dabney State Park. They have bilingual instructions on how to borrow and return them, as well as proper use.

Those life jackets, which are funded by donations from the Corbett community and a Rise Up Community Grant from Metro Regional Government, are already paying off — last year was the first time in more than half a decade that no on drowned at any of those three locations.

Corbett Fire does weekly maintenance of the lifejackets to ensure the stations remain full.