Members of the Warsaw fire and police departments participated in a rescue dive training session Thursday afternoon at Center Lake.
The dive was the culmination of a three-day series of classes taught by Dive Rescue International from Fort Collins, Colo.
“This company teaches safety diving techniques worldwide,” said David Moore, instructor. “With this group, we’re focusing on working as a team.”
Fire department personnel who participated were Nate Iden, Aaron Bolinger, Brian Drobitsch, Derek Shilling, Dave Vercauteren, Andrew Callaway, Mike Brubaker, Brent Fifer, Kerry Stogsdill and Jonna Stienhaur.
Police department personnel were Joe Hawn, Brian Sherwin, Wayne Wilky, Al Danko, Jon Rice, Ryan Petty and Paul Heaton. Hawn, Rice and Heaton were the divers.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department has their own dive unit.
“The training teaches personnel not only how to deal with a water emergency scene and how to treat drowning victims, but also the public relations aspect of talking to witnesses, families and the media,” Moore said. “One of the reasons for conducting this particular session at Center Lake is that this is an actual environment where rescue personnel would be called to respond to an incident.”
During the dive, two practice drills were conducted. One involved interviewing witnesses and establishing a line-of-sight point where a drowning victim was last scene. The second drill is what is known as a target search. In this exercise, divers attempt to locate clay discs on the bottom of the lake.
“There are unique hazards to diving in lakes,” said firefighter Dave Vercauteren. “Visibility is bad to begin with. It’s worse when there’s been a lot of people swimming for some time. There’s also entanglement hazards from weeds and even old fishing lines.”
Kosciusko County has 92 lakes, with the Warsaw area having three of them.
“I don’t think a year has gone by where there hasn’t been some kind of incident on one of our lakes,” said Fire Marshal Mike Wilson. “This is a great example of team work between the fire department and the police department.”
Members of the Warsaw fire and police departments participated in a rescue dive training session Thursday afternoon at Center Lake.
The dive was the culmination of a three-day series of classes taught by Dive Rescue International from Fort Collins, Colo.
“This company teaches safety diving techniques worldwide,” said David Moore, instructor. “With this group, we’re focusing on working as a team.”
Fire department personnel who participated were Nate Iden, Aaron Bolinger, Brian Drobitsch, Derek Shilling, Dave Vercauteren, Andrew Callaway, Mike Brubaker, Brent Fifer, Kerry Stogsdill and Jonna Stienhaur.
Police department personnel were Joe Hawn, Brian Sherwin, Wayne Wilky, Al Danko, Jon Rice, Ryan Petty and Paul Heaton. Hawn, Rice and Heaton were the divers.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department has their own dive unit.
“The training teaches personnel not only how to deal with a water emergency scene and how to treat drowning victims, but also the public relations aspect of talking to witnesses, families and the media,” Moore said. “One of the reasons for conducting this particular session at Center Lake is that this is an actual environment where rescue personnel would be called to respond to an incident.”
During the dive, two practice drills were conducted. One involved interviewing witnesses and establishing a line-of-sight point where a drowning victim was last scene. The second drill is what is known as a target search. In this exercise, divers attempt to locate clay discs on the bottom of the lake.
“There are unique hazards to diving in lakes,” said firefighter Dave Vercauteren. “Visibility is bad to begin with. It’s worse when there’s been a lot of people swimming for some time. There’s also entanglement hazards from weeds and even old fishing lines.”
Kosciusko County has 92 lakes, with the Warsaw area having three of them.
“I don’t think a year has gone by where there hasn’t been some kind of incident on one of our lakes,” said Fire Marshal Mike Wilson. “This is a great example of team work between the fire department and the police department.”
