CAMANO ISLAND — Summer officially begins next week, but the inland waters of Western Washington remain very cold and dangerous.
In hopes of making water recreation safe and fun, Camano Island Fire and Rescue has placed life jackets at all of three of the island’s boat launches.
It’s f
ree to borrow a life jacket. The only requirement is that the jacket is returned to the shed from which it was borrowed, said assistant chief Levon Yengoyan.
“As spring rains fade to summer, we are reminded why so many of us choose to live on Camano Island,” Yengoyan said. “It’s boating season.”
Fire Chief Mike Ganz said he wants to remind citizens that most drownings can be prevented if people wear life jackets while boating.
Camano Island Fire and Rescue has worked for years with groups to secure donations for life jackets to be made available at three separate boat launches, Yengoyan said.
Those businesses and organizations who have donated include Windermere Real Estate, the Camano Tomatoes chapter of the Red Hat Society and Camano Marine.
The life jacket sheds are located at the Utsalady Point, Maple Grove and Cavalero boat launches.
“We want people to return the jackets,” Ganz said. “But more importantly, we want people to wear them. These jackets are provided as a service to the community in the hopes that boaters will wear them and lives will be saved.”
State law does require that life jackets be worn by children 12 years and younger on boats less than 19 feet in length, unless the child is in an enclosed area of the vessel.
Learn more
For more information about Camano Island Fire and Rescue, call 360-387-1512.
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