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Chester firefighters train for swift water rescues on Delaware River, one year after creek drowning

By
Madeleine Wright
Madeleine Wright
Madeleine Wright is a bilingual general assignment reporter for CBS News Philadelphia who is fluent in Spanish. She joined the team in January 2022 and was named the Delaware County reporter in July 2023.
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Madeleine Wright

/ CBS Philadelphia

Chester firefighters took to the Delaware River on Wednesday, not to fight flames, but to practice life-saving water rescue techniques. It was part of a specialized training exercise with one goal: to save lives in fast-moving water.

And for this team, the training hits close to home.

In a simulated rescue scenario, Chester Bureau of Fire firefighter John Albany played the role of a drowning victim, floating in the river as his fellow team members raced to save him.

"It's a low-frequency, high-risk skill," Albany said. "The guys spend hours a year training."

Among the rescuers was Chester Bureau of Fire firefighter Thomas Fanelli, who has been practicing how to maneuver rescue boats with speed and precision, skills that are critical in real emergencies when every second counts.

"Being out here training today just helps us hone in our skills and become more proficient in what we're doing, especially with that tragedy that happened," Fanelli said.

That tragedy was the drowning of 6-year-old Li'najah Brooker, who slipped into the rain-swollen Chester Creek while playing with her cousins in March 2024. Despite an extensive, multi-day search, her body was never found.

"We've used that incident in training to try to, you know, what can we do better?" Albany said.

Fanelli said swift water rescues are far from routine and require extra preparation beyond standard fire calls.

"What drives me to do this is just how specialized it is," Fanelli said. "It's not just your ordinary firefighting operations."

While the Delaware River is wide and powerful, Albany said even smaller creeks like Chester Creek can turn deadly in seconds. That's why firefighters train in all types of water and under various conditions.

The memory of Li'najah's death weighs heavily on the department and fuels their mission to be ready for the next emergency.

"I think it's in the back of our minds all the time," Albany said. "It's not the first call that we've had and it won't be the last."

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