Firefighters Preplan Raccoon Island for Water-Based Emergency Response

Jefferson Township, N.J. — August 26 — On Wednesday, firefighters took advantage of a stretch of favorable weather to carry out a pre-incident planning exercise on Raccoon Island, a residential island community on Lake Hopatcong where emergency access is difficult because there is no direct road link to the mainland.?

Jefferson Township fire service members went to the island aboard Fire Boat 717 to examine access points, ferry procedures and water-based shuttle operations. The exercise was intended to help firefighters grasp how equipment and personnel would get to the island in an emergency.

Raccoon Island is one of the communities on Lake Hopatcong and is part of Jefferson Township in Morris County. Planning documents for the township place Raccoon Island within Jefferson Township, while historical records indicate that the island has depended on ferry service for access for decades