Let’s hope that city decided to certify their firemen for water. I guess 2 life preservers and a rope are too much weight for a 150,000 dollar fire engine!
I dont think it matters whether they had the equipment, it mattered whether they were certified.
As if one of the firemen couldn’t have said to sign him out for the day, strip out of his uniform and jump in the water as a private citizen. Of course, someone would still have sued him but he wouldn’t have to live the rest of his life knowing he picked lint from his belly button while someone died.