Law enforcement trains in water rescue

MARIANNA, Fla. — Swift water roils over the dam on Spring Creek in Marianna, providing rescue teams from Floridan and Alabama with a perfect opportunity to train this week.

With Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Mitchell joining in, they are putting in two days of on-the-water training here to prepare them for moving-water rescue.

For instance, on Thursday, they swam against the rushing current as the dam released water into the creek.

They strung a rescue line across the creek and used it to navigate the body of water.

They learned how to use a boogie board as a rescue device.

Today, they’ll come back for more.

The seminar was put on by David Owens with Dive Rescue International, a commercial firm hired by the Houston County Sheriff’s Office and Houston County Rescue Team. The course cost $405 per person in tuition, and another $400 for wet suits and other gear.

The money came from a state legislative appropriation secured by Alabama Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb, according to Paul Grimes of the Houston County Rescue Team.

Grimes said his agency’s share was enough to pay the tuition and the cost of gear for six participants, but team members made personal sacrifices to get more of them in training.

Instead of six, 10 from the rescue team are taking the course. Each paid for his own gear out-of-pocket, leaving more funds available for tuition. Altogether, 22 people from various agencies took part.

Grimes said it became clear a few months ago that the training was critical. The overall goal is to establish a regional response team. He said the session will go a long way toward meeting that goal, with two Houston County teams, the police department in nearby Andalusia, the beverage commission in Alabama, and Jackson County in Florida all involved.

Capt. Antonio Gonzalez, spokesman for the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, dropped by to check on the progress early Thursday afternoon and explained what led to the exercises.

When flood waters poured into Dothan and Houston County a few months ago, he said rescue workers who dealt with the situation realized they needed some formal training. Gonzalez said it was the worst flooding he’d seen in 21 years of living in the Dothan area.

Intersections were flooded, one person died in a vehicle that had been caught in the deluge, and team members began to imagine what might happen in a more severe flooding event.

In a county with 580 square miles and lots of creeks and rivers, they knew they weren’t adequately prepared; most had learned what they know by experience only, and feared that their “seat of the pants” know-how might not be enough.

They expressed their concerns to their sheriff, Andy Hughes, and he told them to look into training options.

In addition to the exercises held Thursday and Friday in Jackson County, the participants on Wednesday had some classroom time and trained at the fairgrounds in Houston County, tying knots, practicing their rescue line work on land before they tried it in water, and engaging in other rescue-related activities.