Watch Hill Firefighters conducted a public training seminar on the proper use of marine fire extinguishers and the safe use of marine visual distress signals this weekend. The training was conducted under sunny skies on Saturday afternoon along the shore of Watch Hill Harbor near the entrance to Napatree Point.

The training included a brief overview of fire extinguishers with a focus on the type of extinguishers that are designed specifically for boats and a brief overview and demonstration of the safe and effective use of various marine visual distress signaling devices.

Watch Hill firefighters aboard Marine 100 then took a position approximately 1000 yards away just outside Watch Hill Harbor and demonstrated the proper use of mirrors, distress flags, red ground flares, orange smoke flares, and red aerial flares.

This allowed the participants to see and understand what the various visual distress signals would look like from the perception of potential rescuers.

The participants were then provided with personal demonstrations of each type of distress signal on the shore near the entrance to Napatree Point and were then given the opportunity to practice using the various handheld visual distress signals under the close supervision of Watch Hill firefighters.

Thirty-four people participated in the hands on training including twenty-eight members of the Shennecossett Yacht Club who were visiting Watch Hill as a group and were anchored together for the weekend in Little Narragansett Bay just outside the Watch Hill Harbor.

Our appreciation is extended to the Watch Hill Boat Yard, the Avondale Boat Yard, the Frank Hall Boatyard, and many local residents for donating the expired visual distress signals that were used during the training,