For some reason there was a budget cut, that cut caused the response teams to not have the training or gear to save the person. It makes sense, believe it or not, you need training and real equipment to save somebody in a place like the San Francisco Bay. I suppose you could try swimming, but firemen in bunker gear would have issues swimming. A police officer would probably need to drop a bunch of gear because all that stuff is useless weight when saving somebody from drowning.
I personally don't care if he Self Deleted. If you're stupid enough to take your own life then you deserve to die.