Last month, the San Francisco Fire Department Aquatic Rescue Unit received 40 custom wetsuits from a local San Francisco nonprofit organization, the Peter Patrick Madigan Antonini (PPMA) Foundation.
The SFFD Aquatic Rescue Unit responds all along Ocean Beach, around the Cliff House to China Beach, Baker Beach and in the Bay.
By BC Staff
Published: April, 2015
Last month, the San Francisco Fire Department Aquatic Rescue Unit received 40 custom wetsuits from a local San Francisco nonprofit organization, the Peter Patrick Madigan Antonini (PPMA) Foundation. The Aquatic Rescue Unit’s members are San Francisco firefighters, and the unit is San Francisco’s only in-surf rescue crew.
“The San Francisco Fire Department is so grateful to the PPMA Foundation for its donation of 40 wetsuits to our water rescue unit,” said San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. “Having top-notch equipment can make all the difference when the men and women of this unit are out in the uncompromising waters off San Francisco’s Ocean Beach risking their lives to save others.”
San Francisco is one of the only water-locked cities in the nation that does not have its own full-time aquatic rescue unit. While the U.S. Coast Guard cover rescues out at sea, it does not respond to emergencies that occur at the beach and up to shore. The Aquatic Rescue Unit responds all along Ocean Beach, around the Cliff House to China Beach, Baker Beach and in the Bay.
Prior to the gift of 40 wetsuits, Aquatic Rescue Unit volunteers often purchased their own wetsuits or used old wetsuits that were not properly insulated or did not fit properly, creating unnecessary drag while in the water. “Jumping into San Francisco Bay’s waters is no day at the beach and we are grateful to have worked with an innovative team to create custom suits that meet our specific design and functional needs,” said Aquatic Rescue Unit member Robert Styles. “We implore people to think twice about swimming in the waters that surround this City as the surf is unpredictable and the rip tides incredibly dangerous—you are putting yourself and the rescue team at risk when you do.”
The PPMA Foundation was started after its namesake, Peter Antonini, died of cardiac arrest while running along Ocean Beach in September 2002. Peter had recently been accepted into the SFFD 108th firefighter class and was in the process of training for the academy. Peter, a seemingly healthy 21-year-old, died of an undetected genetic heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
“In addition to supporting the research and prevention of HCM and sudden cardiac arrest, our mission is to give back to the people and organizations that Peter would have supported throughout his life, which includes the volunteers of the Aquatic Rescue Unit and the men and women of the Fire Department,” said Linda Antonini, president of the PPMA Foundation. “Peter couldn’t wait to do what SF Firefighters get to do every day. He would definitely want to be a member of this unit.”
