Department trains on new rescue crafts

The extreme hot weather draws people to the Clark Fork River to splash around in the cool water, but sometimes it's just an extra perk when having to work. It was 100 degrees last Wednesday when members of the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District took to the water for their first training on their new jet skis - rescue watercrafts.

The 10 men and two women spent three hours in the river performing various rescue training exercises at the Sanders County Fairgrounds beach. "It was really hard for them to get in the water in this heat," said Chief James Russell sarcastically during the training session. Normally donned in heavy firefighter turnout gear, the crew that day wore shorts, t-shirts, life jackets and safety helmets while taking turns driving the rescue watercrafts or playing the part of the victim of a boating accident or stranded swimmer. Russell doesn't know exactly how many of his 23 firefighters, including junior firefighter James Morrison, 17, will be part of the water rescue program, but he hopes to have a few more qualified to take on the district's newest function. Presently, he can suit up six people, but he wants to get additional gear, which costs about $1,400 a person.

The fire district purchased the two watercrafts months ago from a person in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, after the board voted unanimously in favor of starting the water rescue program. The total cost for all the equipment was $21,000, which included personal floatation devices, drysuits, gloves, helmets, throw bags, a rescue board and the two jet skis for $13,000. The 71-inch long sled, which would be towed by a jet ski, can carry 600 pounds, which would normally mean a victim and a rescue swimmer.

"The Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District includes 32 miles of river in our protection area. This presents a fun recreation opportunity and a dynamic hazard," said Russell, who's been with the district for 11 years and chief for the last five. He said water rescue is part of the recently created Technical Rescue Squad, which presently includes only the water rescue division, but Russell would like to expand it to other facets, such as rope rescue on steep terrain, search and rescue, and working with air rescue. Funds for the water rescue program comes from the annual fall rescue fundraiser, the result of faithful donations from the community, said Russell, who added that the funds have previously been used to purchase motor vehicle extrication equipment. The chief said he has applied for a federal grant for additional equipment, such as waterproof radios. 

The district also recently received a 2009 custom built truck that had been Air Force surplus and came at no cost to the district. The truck had 1,900 miles on it and will be used to tow the rescue watercraft, which frees the district's fire suppression and medical vehicles for other duties, said Russell, who has already been out with the jet skis with firefighters Zach and Cori Vanderwall to become familiar with the watercrafts' handling and with the geography of the river and its estuaries. They even took the crafts down the cascades near Siegel Creek. "That made me a little nervous, but it wasn't bad," said Cori, who joined the fire district in January. The crafts are 130 horsepower, can travel around 50 mph and have a draft of about three feet when stopped and about four inches when traveling with one person on board and six inches with two. Russell said they have very good maneuverability, especially in fast-moving currents.

Wednesday's training started with pizza and ice cream donated by Ripples Ice Cream Parlor. The crew took turns at the helm of the jet skis, learning how the crafts handle, picking up victims while going with and against the current, and learning hand signals, which are mainly designed for the coxswain and a rescue swimmer in the water. Russell said there might be times when the jet ski operator would have to take a survivor and temporarily leave a crewmember. "Repetition is a key to all of our training. It creates a muscle memory to operate in stressful environments so it's automatic," said Russell. The standard response procedure will be two rescue swimmers to a jet ski, one towing the rescue board, normally keeping in sight of one another.

For those not training on the rescue watercrafts last week, they practiced throwing a rope from shore to a person in the water. They also practiced backing the trailer to the water, hooking and unhooking the jet skis and inspecting the condition of the watercraft before and after the training session. Even after leaving the beach, they continued training for another hour back at the fire hall.    

"It went really well, people got experience working with the equipment and rescue techniques, but we're going to keep training with them all summer," said Russell. "I think it's going to fill a need in the community. They've received calls in the past about people in trouble on the Clark Fork River, but had no way to help. "The Water Rescue Squad is part of Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District's mission to serve our community and surrounding area with all-hazard incident response. We can do that by working together well with other public safety agencies in our district to support emergency medical services, search and rescue, law enforcement, Fish, Wildlife & Parks, U.S. Forest Service, and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation," said Russell. 

Russell said they are developing water rescue operational guidelines. He also wants to do some training with panicky victims and children, and winter training, even when there's some ice on the water. Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District has already responded to a call with the rescue crafts. In early June, a call came in that a vehicle was overturned in the Clark Fork River. Russell said it took them 21 minutes from when they received the alarm call to the scene in Paradise with the two watercraft and a jet boat. They searched for over two hours, but found nothing. They eventually discovered it was just a wheel and tire in the river.