Preparing for disaster

Monroe residents may have noticed the flurry of firefighters at Lake Tye last week as rescue swimmers worked to hone their life-saving skills in the water.

The realistic training drills provided first-responders with several different water-rescue scenarios to help them navigate the eventualities of what a real-life water-rescue might entail.-á

Snohomish County's rescue swimming team is a multi-jurisdictional team of trained rescue swimmers who are able to deploy on a county-wide level. Approximately 20 firefighters from Monroe, Clearview, Gold Bar and Everett attended the drill, which took place at Lake Tye Park on June 1. Rescue swimmers undergo a rigorous process to become certified to perform subsurface rescue and must continually work to maintain their skills.-á

The initial training includes a four-day certification class during which firefighters must demonstrate their proficiency in the water with free-dives up to a depth of 40 feet, long-distance swims, rescue drills and holding their breath for a minimum of 60 seconds. Additionally, the certification requires eight hours of ongoing hands-on training and an annual evaluation. -á

Expanded efforts-á

Gold Bar Fire Chief Eric Andrews, who also serves at the assistant fire chief in Clearview, has rescue swimmers in both of his departments. He explained that the training to become a rescue swimmer is rigorous and demanding.-á

"Those guys have to go through quite an exercise to get qualified in that,GÇ¥ Andrews said. "It's pretty intense.GÇ¥

Rescue swimming is separate from swift-water rescue, which requires a different training regimen. With their close proximity to the Skykomish River, it is necessary for fire departments along the U.S. 2 corridor to have trained swift-water rescue technicians. Both Monroe and Gold Bar have both swift-water rescue technicians and rescue swimmers.-á

Currently, the rescue swimmers primarily deploy in their own districts. Per Washington state safety standards, firefighters and law enforcement officers are disallowed from entering the water without training, so having rescue swimmers available at each department is crucial.-á

"Our main goal is to get somebody in the water right away,GÇ¥ said Monroe Battalion Chief Erik Liddiatt.

Eventually, they hope to establish a team of 20 to 30 rescue swimmers who have the ability to self-deploy from wherever they happen to be when an incident occurs. Rescue swimmers require a minimal amount of equipment and, once they arrive on scene, are able to deploy rapidly. By creating a multi-jurisdictional team, first responders are better able to serve the residents of Snohomish County as a whole. -á

"It's been a combined effort with local fire departments for the last couple years,GÇ¥ said Clearview firefighter Brendan Grace. "It's all about combining resources to meet the expectations of the public.GÇ¥ -á-á

Preparing for reality

Several different rescue scenarios were set up in Lake Tye, a 42-acre manmade lake that is approximately 30 feet in depth. In one area, firefighters practiced diving and extracting "victimsGÇ¥ from a submerged truck cab. Donated by a Monroe firefighter, the truck cab has been strategically altered-á to facilitate this type of rescue drill. In other areas of the lake, rescue swimmers practiced both spot searches and grid searches GÇô both techniques commonly used in the event of a water rescue.-á

In August 2012, shortly after Monroe's rescue swimming team was implemented, first-responders were called to Lake Tye Park to rescue a 14-year-old Everett boy who had disappeared while swimming. They used the spot-search technique, a method in which a first responder works to guide the underwater search from the shore based on where the victim was last seen.-á

Although they had him out of the water within two minutes, the young man did not survive the incident.-á

On the west side of the lake, firefighters drilled using an overturned kayak. To simulate a realistic rescue scenario, Monroe firefighter Clay Mattern thrashed wildly in the water while shouting, "Where's my buddy? Where is he? He was fishing with meGǪ. He can't swim!Gǥ

Monroe firefighters Rusty Hunt and Stacy Arnold operated Monroe rescue boat No. 31, ferrying firefighters back and forth.-á

In another section of the lake, safety scuba divers helped rescue swimmers practice 30-foot free-dives.-á

Grace explained that one of the challenges of a water rescue is the differing environments in the lakes around the county. Lakes with rocky bottoms offer better visibility than those with floors of mud or silt, which gets stirred up easily and causes the water to become instantly murky.-á

"They're all unique in their own ways,GÇ¥ Grace said.-á

Liddiatt hopes to be able to hold large-scale training drills on an annual basis.-á