Watch Hill firefighters were among the first to complete a course designed to acquaint local members with Coast Guard procedures to ensure smooth operations during emergency situations on coastal waters in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Two firefighters from the Watch Hill department, Patrick Majeika and Dennis Mello, senior boat operators, were among those completing the U.S. Coast Guard Boat Search and Rescue Course held at the Coast Guard station in New London last week. The men will now be responsible for training fellow volunteers and dispatchers “in new skills and techniques,” said Watch Hill Fire Chief Robert Peacock.

The Mystic fire department also sent a contingent to take part in the training, including Deputy Chief Tony Manfredi Jr., Andy Bellinghieri, Kevin Wagner, Antonio Cassata and William Jamieson Jr.

Peacock said the program was developed to assist in improving joint operations with local agencies that would be called on during an emergency, including local harbor masters, Stonington police, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and firefighters from Mystic, Old Mystic and Stonington Borough.

Peacock said the topics included risk management assessments, search patterns, rescue techniques, wind and tide drift estimations and salvage operations.

Mello, who served as the longtime head of the Westerly ambulance corps, emphasized the program would aid area departments with tactical communications and teamwork. He said over two weekends the participants learned navigation skills related to to Coast Guard rescue operations and sophisticated methods of plotting a course during an emergency.

Mello said the program would promote earlier coordination during an emergency and provide a standard for those responding to those situations.

The 40 hours of training, said Peacock, included practical rescue training as well as in-class work. The Watch Hill fire marine division operates with two rescue boats, he said, including a 18-foot Boston Whaler and a 22-foot Nautica with a 235-horse power jet drive engine. Firefighters who operate boats during emergencies will be required to undergo training led by the boat operators who have completed the course. Majeika and Mello, members of the ambulance corps, are certified emergency medical technicians and certified to the cardiac level.

Peacock said Watch Hill firefighters are in an unusual situation since they work with two Coast Guard jurisdictions.

The station in New London covers the area to the south of the Watch Hill lighthouse while the station in Point Judith is responsible for the area north of the lighthouse. He added that the Block Island station covers a portion of the area between Block Island and the Watch Hill lighthouse during the summer.

Those who completed the training said that emergency dispatchers should also have the opportunity to take the course, which would provide them with knowledge of Coast Guard procedures and vernacular that could be used to their advantage during a water emergency.

The course is a “vital necessity” especially during the summer months, when the waters are densely populated, Majeika said. He said an advantage of joint training is that while working on a call, the local department could provide a specific search pattern while the Coast Guard is in another area, all contributing to a quicker response in a larger area. Majeika said the certification process provides vital training to ensure that responses to emergencies are quick and coordinated.

Other local departments sending officers to classes include the Stonington police department, various harbor masters and additional firefighters.

A multi-jurisdictional training session involving a ferry in distress is planned for Sept. 16 in waters off New London