Milwaukee dive rescue crew ‘the busiest special team in the city’

MILWAUKEE – It’s not a particular crew you’ll discover at each fireplace division, however in Milwaukee, the dive rescue crew is about as busy because it will get.

“Individuals don’t understand, so we’re the busiest particular crew within the metropolis,” stated Captain Scott Alwin, Milwaukee Fireplace Division Dive Rescue Staff director. “We take between 30 and 50 runs a yr.”

It takes quite a bit to tackle what this crew does.

“I’ve had the chance to be on nearly each particular crew within the metropolis,” stated Captain Alwin. “By far, that is essentially the most bodily demanding and essentially the most hazardous. We’re at all times manned and staffed with divers so we will mount a dive rescue anytime we want, 24/7.”

From ice to dive missions and swift water rescues, all of it takes a unique ability set.

“I consider it was final yr, we had a toddler and two adults swept in,” stated Alwin. “That may be a swift water rescue. Usually, out of all of the disciplines we do, swift water is essentially the most harmful simply because folks don’t understand the quantity of pressure that transferring water generates.”

Alwin stated Saturday, March 11, the crew was on the brink of begin their swift water coaching cycles quickly, with coaching for different disciplines additionally occurring all year long. This yr, they’ve new tools to get crew members prepared.

“There’s a number of anxiousness for lots of men, and it’s not simply one thing you’ll be able to leap in and do,” stated Alwin. 

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That features a donated Swim Spa that’s about 20 ft lengthy and 5 ft excessive, It creates a present, permitting simulations like entanglement drills.

“As a result of we wish folks to really feel that anxiousness and that sense of being trapped and claustrophobia in a protected atmosphere,” stated Alwin. 

The Swim Spa was donated by Grasp Spas of Southern Wisconsin.

It’s all so after they have the prospect to save lots of a life, they’re prepared to leap in.

“After they do happen, and we’re in a position to make that save or that seize, it’s very gratifying,” stated Alwin.

To forestall the necessity for rescues within the first place, the dive rescue crew says it’s finest to by no means swim alone, don’t swim if you’ve been ingesting and have security gadgets on you. 

Milwaukee’s dive rescue crew responds to emergencies in surrounding communities, as properly. Captain Alwin stated they’re the one 24/7 dive crew within the space.