There’s a particular sound when emergency crews arrive – radio chatter and purposeful footsteps – before the noise fades, and all that’s left is a mental image of a ticking clock. On Monday evening, July 27, volunteer first responders raced against that clock as a boat accident simulation unfolded: 12 victims, three dead, including a baby.

The scenario was all too real as a boat anchored off Party Island was struck by an out-of-control vessel, breaking through an otherwise quiet evening at the…