November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 35

Guimond maintained direct visual contact with the decedent during his
phone calls to the Bridgeport Harbor patrol and relayed his approximate location. Guimond also contacted the United
States Coast Guard. However, Guimond
did not directly contact the Town of Stratford Fire or Police Department.
At approximately 5 p.m., the Stratford Fire Department received a report of a " windsurfer " in distress from
Centralized Medical Emergency Dispatch ( " CMED " ). At approximately 5:02
p.m., the Stratford Fire Department dispatched two fire engines and a rescue
vehicle towing a 14-foot long inflatable
hard bottom " zodiac " boat in inflatable
pontoons. At approximately 5:08 p.m.,
the two fire engines from the Stratford
Fire Department and the rescue vehicle towing the zodiac boat arrived at the
Birdseye Street boat launch ramp. The
Birdseye Street boat launch ramp, from
which the boat was launched, was located approximately four miles from the
decedent's last reported location in the
Housatonic River, which meets with Long
Island Sound.
The boat experienced engine and
motor difficulties when it reached the
mouth of the Housatanic River. As a result of these difficulties, the boat was
unable to continue toward the decedent's reported location or back to the
site where it was launched. The firefighters remained on board the boat, which
they tied to a buoy, for approximately 90
minutes until the boat was towed by the
United States Coast Guard back to the
Birdseye Street launch ramp.
The Bridgeport Harbor Patrol and
United States Coast Guard vessels arrived in the area where the decedent
entered the water approximately 20 to
45 minutes after he had " ditched " or
" flagged " his kite. It was " full dusk " or
" near dark " when they arrived. Guimond had observed the decedent's kite
" tumble " into the air shortly before their
arrival, and he advised the Bridgeport
Harbor Patrol that the decedent was no
longer with the kite.
As of 7 p.m., approximately two hours
after CMED had notified the Stratford

Fire Department of the incident, the decedent had not been located despite a
search by the Bridgeport Harbor Patrol
and the United States Coast Guard. The
United States Coast Guard located the
decedent's body in Long Island Sound
the following day, January 22, 2006.

Safety Services Discretion
In response to Popow's allegations of
negligence, the firefighter defendants
claimed " qualified immunity " in connection with their attempt to rescue the
decedent. As a general rule, the federal district court noted that " Connecticut

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Parks & Recreation 33

November 2010 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2010 - Parks & Recreation