Stevens Point firefighters hold annual water rescue training

By Brandi Makuski

It wasn’t your typical day at the beach.

Stevens Point firefighters spent much of July 28 in Jordan Pond on County Hwy. Y for a day of field training in swift water rescue techniques.

Nearly half of all Stevens Point firefighter-paramedics have fewer than five years on the job, and much of the management staff has been installed for fewer than two years. Chief Jb Moody said even if that weren’t the case, constant training is the lay of the land in the fire service; and that’s doubly the case when there’s new gear.

“We have to be ready to act immediately when an emergency arises; without that muscle memory, hesitation can mean the difference between life and death,” he said.

SPFD has undergone specialized training for swift water rescue a handful of times with Pioneer Rescue & Outfitters, a technical rescue company based in the Oshkosh area, since SPFD created its training officer position in July 2020.

The department took possession of its newest piece of gear, the Zodiac, in March. The inflatable rapid deploy craft (RDC) has a 30 horsepower motor and replaces the SPFD’s Ice Angel — the fan boat familiar to the public for its dramatic appearance.

Assistant EMS Chief Joe Gemza said the Ice Angel has been listed with Wisconsin Surplus and remains in storage at the city’s streets garage until it’s sold.

Gemza said the boat was purchased with about $40,000 in funding from an EMS Flex Grant.

“It’s stored inflated and it can be deployed within minutes,” Gemza said of the new craft. “Where the airboat had to get to a boat launch; you just run into the water and go right off the bank of the river, which will save valuable time.”

Training Division Chief Anthony Ewing said that the July 28 training taught, or reinforced, proper methods of throwing a rope bag, tying knots, whistle signals, and high-line rope techniques used for maneuvering the Zodiac in swift water, offensive and defensive swimming, and more.

One tactic included using a firefighter’s air pack to inflate an older, but still airtight, piece of hose, configuring it into a quasi-pool noodle to help rescue someone in moving water.

Ewing said the department already travels with older lengths of hose as short as 10 feet. They can be inflated and deployed in less than 30 seconds, he said.

“We wouldn’t use anything like this on a wider piece of water like the Wisconsin River; we’d use it on smaller pieces of water where we can use our rope bags,” he said. “That also comes in handy when we do ice water rescues because it just sits on top of the ice and it’s stiff once you fill it up with air. If you can throw that out to a victim, and have them hold onto that, you can pull them in from ice or this kind of water.”

Pioneer’s Amy Rieckmann said the company offers “awareness,” “operator,” and “technician” level training courses, with the latter two courses consisting of one day in the classroom, and one in the field. Members received a certificate upon completion, she said.

The company trains fire departments across the region on ice and cold water, low- and high-angle rope, river, and grain engulfment rescue, Riekchmann said. For swift water rescue, firefighters learn to safely cross rapids and are given a series of obstacles while in the water, mimicking a tree branch or other hazard, they learn to traverse safely—both with and without a patient in tow.

Ewing said SPFD requires all of its members to obtain operator level, adding, “Every year they have a certain number of hours to maintain it.” Some leadership positions require technician-level certifications, which involve a “much more intense” five-day course held in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Following the July training, all members of SPFD are now certified as operators, with the exception of two new hires still undergoing departmental training, Ewing said.