A flotilla of search and rescue watercraft from 10 municipalities and the U.S. Coast Guard converged on Bristol Harbor on Thursday, May 21, in an exercise to prepare first responders for potential rescue calls as the summer boating season gets underway.

The Narragansett Bay Marine Task Force and the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Association conducted the drill, using the Herbert B. Farnum, a Bristol Yacht Club race boat, as the vessel in distress.

Smoke canisters set inside the boat’s cabin sent a thick cloud of smoke across the yacht club’s docks while five mannequins were placed in the water to simulate victims who fell overboard. Shortly after 11 a.m., a 911 call alerted authorities, and marine units converged in the harbor.

From his command post, Bristol Fire Chief Bob Martin directed the operation, using radio communication on a frequency shared by all Rhode Island emergency responders, as well as the Coast Guard.

“It went well. It was a great exercise. Every time we do it we learn a little more,” Bristol Fire Chief Bob Martin said of the training run.

The Narragansett Bay Task Force was formed in 2012 in an effort to enable coastal communities in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts to provide mutual aid to each other in the event of a marine emergency.

“We had over 500 runs last year,” said Little Compton Fire Chief Richard Petrin.

The majority of emergency calls include people falling overboard, suicide jumps from the Mt. Hope Bridge, collisions and vessels taking on water, he said. “Five boats are dispatched for any call on the water,” Chief Petrin said.

Using a map, Chief Martin demonstrated the grid used to delineate Narragansett Bay and nearby waterways to determine which towns hold primary jurisdiction. When a distress call comes in, the task force is activated, with responders from other localities dispatched to the scene, he explained.

“We determine the location and get together to understand who’s in command,” Chief Martin said. “Everyone can go on the same channel and communicate. We’ll turn them around and send them back if they’re not needed."

For Thursday’s exercise, vessels from Barrington, Bristol, Cranston, East Greenwich, Fall River, Middletown, North Kingstown, Portsmouth, Providence, Warwick and the U.S. Coast Guard participated.

While fire boats from North Kingstown and Providence used water cannons to simulate fire suppression, other vessels criss-crossed the harbor, using side sonar to locate the submerged "bodies."

There have been multiple lifesaving rescues that have taken place in the years since inception, including the recent incident off Barrington involving two young women who were rescued as they tried to swim from Nayatt Point to Conimicut Point Lighthouse.

Fortunately, one of the girls was rescued by good samaritans, and the other by Portsmouth Fire Department's marine rescue crew.

The United States Coast Guard has attempted to duplicate the Narragansett Bay Marine Task Force success in other major ports and harbors in the United States using the Rhode Island model, according to the RI Fire Chiefs Association.