The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Environmental Conservation Police are going to be donating life jackets to individuals on Candlewood Lake who are without one. 

DEEP says more than 90% of drowning related boating fatalities may have been avoided by wearing a life jacket. Already this season, three people have died on Connecticut water bodies while operating paddlecrafts, and in all three incidents, a life jacket was not worn. 

New, U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets of various sizes have been donated to DEEP by the Emily Catherine Fedorko Foundation, named for a 16-year old who lost her life in 2014, during a water tubing accident on Long Island Sound.  The DEEP Boating Division recently hosted a statewide Life Jacket Drive, collecting new and gently used life jackets at Squantz Cove State Boat Launch in New Fairfield and two other locations.

All life jackets collected were washed and will be used for future life jacket loaner programs, outreach events, and giveaways.