PHOTOS: For an hour midday Thursday, the pond behind Bass Pro Shops was the safest body of water in Denham Springs.
Anyone who might have been unlucky enough to find themselves in distress in the water would have quickly been pulled aboard a brand new, bright red rescue boat Livingston Parish Fire Protection District No. 5 was testing on the lake. The polymer boat, filled with foam and fitted with a 50 horsepower engine, will soon patrol the Amite River and conduct water rescues on the popular tubing destination.
“This boat is pretty much unsinkable,” Chief Joe Koczrowski said. “You can lay this boat almost on its side in the water. Plus, if we get, God forbid, another flood, we can use it during the flood.” Koczrowski said his department made six rescues on the Amite River during the summer months last year, including a baby that wasn’t breathing on the river and a woman who broke her leg. Lacking a dedicated boat, the department had to rely on the city of Central’s rescue boat when responding to calls, he said.