Jescc made error in lifeboat call-out

Wanfred Callanan, an Irish national living in Guernsey, died after being recovered from the water on Easter Sunday.

While Jescc sent out a mobile phone message via the mass communication system, Everbridge, it did not page lifeboat crew members straight away. Some crew members did not receive the initial message and the pager alert was sent seven minutes later.

Home Affairs said that the error did not cause a delay in help reaching Mr Callanan.

‘Necessary learning’ had now taken place over the protocol.

‘Following receipt of the emergency call, lifeboat crew members were contacted by Jescc via the Everbridge mass communication system,’ said Chelsea Martel, the committee’s head of operations.

‘This system relies on mobile phones so while some members of the crew received the message, others did not. Seven minutes after the Everbridge message was sent, Jescc sent a pager alert to all lifeboat crew members.

‘Three members of the lifeboat crew who received the original Everbridge alert arrived on scene and took the decision to launch the Sarnia’s dory, which is a small vessel owned by Guernsey Harbours, and recover the casualty.

‘While not all lifeboat crew members received the alert at the same time, and therefore did not all arrive on scene at the same time, it is important to stress that the delay in using the pager system did not delay help reaching the casualty.’

She said emergency services personnel, including those who work for Jessc, carried out vital roles for the community.

‘These roles are also undeniably carried out in highly pressurised situations,’ she said.

‘When issues such as this arise, it is crucial that they are used to further improve and strengthen the processes in place to manage incidents.

‘This case highlighted the need for Jescc to ensure the pager system is used in the first instance to notify the lifeboat crew of a call-out, with Everbridge being utilised as a secondary safety measure – not the other way around.’

Harbour master Captain Chad Murray said following any incident where the Coastguard or lifeboat was called out, an internal post-incident review was carried out, as had been done in this instance.

‘This is routine and focuses primarily on any learning for the Coastguard, but also offers an opportunity for us to share that learning with other services as appropriate,’ he said.

‘Regarding the incident in question, we have liaised with colleagues in Jescc to ensure the necessary learning is in place highlighting that operators must contact lifeboat crew members via the pager system straight away.

‘Everbridge is an excellent communication tool, but must supplement the pager system for lifeboat call-outs.’