About 80 residents plunged into the ice-cold water of the Delaware River in Port Jervis on Jan. 11 in support of the local fire department’s water operations team.
This year’s polar plunge attracted the most attendants to date and raised about $3,300, according to John Faggione, the city’s recreational director, who has co-hosted the annual event with Tim Simmons at the fire department for six years.
It was the first time that Casey Maynard, a resident from Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, participated in the annual event at the West End Beach, along with a school-aged boy named Teddy.
“I have never been in the water this cold, and you get to meet awesome people. It is kind of all about the experience,” Teddy told The Epoch Times after the plunge. “It is also a charity thing.”
Aside from registration fees by participants, about $1,000 in donations was raised by Chip Estenes, a Port Jervis resident who has long rooted for local volunteer firefighters.
“I went to my co-workers, my friends, and local businesses, and I asked them if they are interested in donating for my plunge for the fire department,” the county worker, who has dressed up in different sea animal costumes every year for the plunge, told The Epoch Times.
“And I told people that there is no minimum; it is whatever your heart wants to give. I am quite proud of them. They are so generous. We are a great community here.”
Simmons said that all proceeds will support the local water operations team, whose trained members conduct rescue efforts in all kinds of water conditions year-round.
The specialized team’s busiest time of the year is between May and October, when recreation activities on the Delaware River spike. According to Simmons, calls during cold months are often related to ice fishing, skating, or other winter activities.
Last week, local team members were dispatched on a mutual aid call to the town of Lumberland in Sullivan County to rescue a man who accidentally fell into the water while ice skating.
“Not every fire department has a water operations team, which requires specialized training in addition to regular firefighting,” Port Jervis Fire Chief Keith Brown told The Epoch Times.
“Firefighting is expensive. Our turnout gear, we can only wear them for 10 years [before replacing them]. And stuff always gets better and better, and you always try to keep your members in the best protection that you can find.”
Brown said it was “great to see the community support on a winter day.”
More than 20 local businesses and individuals—including The Gun Lady, Neversink Lumber, Knight-Auchmoody Funeral Home, Mamma Grace Pizzeria, and Erie Hotel—sponsored the event this year.
Several local elected officials attended the event, including state Assemblyman Karl Brabenec, Orange County Legislator Tom Faggione, Port Jervis Mayor Dominic Cicalese, and Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, who also plunged into the water along with other residents.
Other events by the recreation department this year include the annual Delaware River 5K Run and Walk, an overnight endurance relay race in May, and a food truck festival around the Fourth of July.
