Thanks to some local companies, the Muscatine Fire Department now owns a new rescue boat. And once it's fully equipped, it will be stored along the city's riverfront and ready to use.
Assistant Fire Chief Mike Hartman says the city had shared a rescue boat with the sheriff's department, but after it became un-usable, his department looked around for a replacement.
The new boat is inflatable, and that means it's lighter than the old one.
"If needed, we can have four or five people grab a hold of it , lift it, and then carry it to the shoreline. Or if we have ice built up along the shore, we can actually carry it across some of that ice and get it out closer to the open water."
The cost was 10,000 dollars, fully equipped, with money donated by Kent Corporation, its charitable foundation, and Grain Processing Corporation.
Hartman says the Muscatine Fire Department has had to rescue two people who fell or jumped in the Mississippi River, during the winter, during the past several years. And if it's a normal summer, the department will have to rescue from 2 to 5 people.
