WEBVTT

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(upbeat music)

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^- Most flares have a distinct rise and fall.

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Typically, you'll see the flare go up, and then come down,

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or you'll see it descend at a slower rate,

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depending on the type of flare that it is.

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Or, even hand-held flares,

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which are just as high as a person can hold 'em.

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Typical distress flares are red or orange.

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If you see a flare,

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we're gonna have several questions for you.

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How long did you see it,

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how long did it burn for,

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how many did you see, what color it was.

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We're gonna try and figure out

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how high it was in the sky, as far as trajectory.

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We're also gonna try and figure out

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if there is a boat or anything in the area.

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Those are the things that we're looking for when

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we get a flare call.

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^- We actually have directions that we have you follow.

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Normally, the technique I like to use

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is to have you put your hand out on the horizon,

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^like a coffee mug, and you just count up on your fingers

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^how high the flare is, according to your fingers.

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^And if it goes past those fingers,

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^you just stack up with another hand.

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I know it can be tough to kind of

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break up what's a flare and what's a firework.

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The big thing is is that a handheld flare from,

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let's say, the water, they won't last very long.

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Like, our handheld flares that we hold in our boats,

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they're about four and a half seconds.

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A firework is gonna go up pretty high,

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and it's gonna be an explosion,

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and it's gonna last a while.

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Just keep that in mind when you're trying to

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figure out whether it's distress, or not.

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^- While we appreciate the members of our community

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^helping us out and reporting flares,

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we highly encourage you to do so

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as carefully and accurately as possible.

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Just to put it into perspective,

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the average hourly cost to operate our small boats

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can be up to about 7,000 dollars.

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For a helicopter, the cost can reach up to

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about 16,000 per hour.

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When we receive a flare report, we have to act.

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When a false report comes through,

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it may hinder us from reaching a real emergency.

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(speaking over radio)

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- Station two six.