My first emergency response - a capsized boat

Current location: Fire station Nynäshamn, Sweden

“What has happened?” worried citizens ask as we run up the stairwell with hoses. “Nothing, we’re just practicing” we respond, carrying on with our scenario. Then the radio goes off – and all of a sudden we’re not practicing anymore. I grab all the tools for breaking an entry and run down the stairwell. My colleague grabs the nozzle and also run down the stairwell. We leave the hose – we don’t have time for it, a boat just capsized. We shove our gear into the fire truck and jump in. We head to the fire station to pick up our boat. All we know is that a fishing boat has capsized. Two of us put on dry suits, we slide into the truck, and then we turn on the blue lights and sirens and we’re off. We arrive to the harbor, and we see an old fishing boat that is lying on its side. Water is being pumped in an attempt to salvage the boat, but it doesn’t appear to do decrease the amount of water in the boat. Items are floating inside. The owner meets us, and there seems to be no actual emergency, apart from that the boat sinking. There were no people in the boat, and so our presence there wasn't really necessary anymore. As I stood on the roof of the boat installing an oil protection net around the hull, I couldn’t help but to smile. My first emergency response – a boat alarm. How fitting.