Firefighters train for river rescues

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- Boating, swimming, and tubing are all great ways to spend a summer day, but what happens when things go wrong on the water?

The Zanesville Fire Department spent time running exercises to refine their water rescue skills. Assistant Chief Jeff Bell said they were working on getting the boats into the water quickly and throwing rescue equipment. They also worked on their recovery skills.

“Today we have our boats in there and are practicing recovery and stuff where if we have a missing person and we’re looking for them, or we have a missing vehicle or something in the water our boat is equipped with SONAR,” said Bell. “So we’re in there practicing with our SONAR today.”

Bell said when they respond to a water rescue call they have three ways to rescue people. Either reach, throw, or go.

“We talk about reach which is getting something, whether it be a boat ore, whether it be a branch or something like that for the person to grab onto,” said Bell. “Throw, which means we would throw them a rope or a flotation device or something, and then we have also where we would row, take our boat out and go.”

Bell said if someone is struggling in the water the best thing to do is call 911 immediately then use either the reach or throw method to rescue them and let the emergency responder do the “Go” part when they arrive. He said the best way to stay safe in the water is to always have a buddy and let people know where you are going. Bell also said its best to avoid alcohol while boating or swimming.