September 17, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
Members of the DeKalb County Swiftwater Rescue Task Force dove into a weekend of training Friday through Sunday, September 10-12 in the river below the falls at Rock Island.
Almost 20 people from the task force participated in the exercises along with first responders from other counties.
The 20 hour Basic Swiftwater course provides rescue education and training to public safety professionals such as fire, rescue, law enforcement, EMS and others interested in Swiftwater or Floodwater safety. At the basic level, participants are taught water safety and rescue techniques in a classroom setting followed by hands-on practical real life scenarios in swift water. The training includes rope rescues, hazmat, confined space, trench rescue and other technical rescues and highly specialized disciplines.
“The first night consisted of a four hour awareness training class where we learned things like characteristics of the water, how to deploy rescue bags, and the use of proper hand signals and terminology, among other important information,” said Captain Dustin Johnson of the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad and member of the Task Force.
“The rest of the weekend we spent several hours in the river to learn the proper way to dive, swim and float in swift currents and how to rescue another swimmer to get them safely to the bank,” added Charlie Parker, DeKalb Emergency Management Agency Director and Smithville Fire Chief, who is also a member of the Task Force. “We actually performed the exercises with each other using ropes to move people across the river since we had no actual victims,” said Parker.
After completing certification, members of the task force will be expected to put in additional hours each year to maintain the certification. An advanced course will be offered next year for those who wish to enroll.
An increase in DeKalb County swift water rescues in recent years, including two in February prompted the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad to seek additional funds from the county in forming a Swiftwater Rescue Task Force.
The task force, led by the Rescue Squad, includes volunteers from the DeKalb County, Smithville and Alexandria Volunteer Fire Departments who are committed to becoming specially trained and equipped for swiftwater rescues.
During the regular monthly meeting in March, the county commission voted unanimously to appropriate $18,000 from the general fund balance as an extra contribution to the Rescue Squad to train and equip up to fifteen volunteers for the task force. That comes to a little less than $1,200 per person.
Task force members who attended the training last weekend were Dustin Johnson, Herb Checchi, Bill Brown Jr, Robert Sartin, Luke Judkins, Gelsio Chacon, Joe Driver, Jeffery Bogle, Matt Adcock, Harlin McCloud, Larry Maddox, Luke Partridge, Joel Lowdermilk, Charlie Parker, John Poss, Dalton Roberts, Glen Lattimore, and Dakota Nokes. John Partridge and Luke Green who already have the certification did not participate in the exercises.