Sutton Fire Chief Matthew R. Belsito was relaxing on the beach in Sandwich earlier this month, savoring a summer break, when his vacation tranquility was shattered by potential tragedy.
The evening’s silence was broken at 6:55 p.m. July 8 with the urgent chatter of his two-way radio, by his side even during his time off. Calls came in requesting police, fire and even the Coast Guard.
The situation was potentially dire. A father and son were floating uncontrollably on an inner tube being swept out from the more protected Scorton Creek toward the open Cape Cod Bay.
This was no longer a day at the beach. Suddenly, two lives were on the line.
Fighting the wind and an outgoing tide, the two men struggled to reach the banks of the creek and headed instead toward potential disaster, Sandwich Fire Chief John Burke said.