La Crosse Fire Department’s rescue team completes intensive training

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — Members of the La Crosse Fire Department are learning some life saving skills out in the open water.

The department’s rescue team just finished 5 days of intensive dive training in La Crosse.

The crew worked on all aspects of water related rescues and searches, including cold water drownings. They practiced putting on their gear, getting in the water, and rescuing someone in less than 30 minutes.

The conditions of those types of rescues can be extremely difficult, something an average diver might not be used to.

“They have an environment that they are diving into water with no visibility. They’re in the water, they are looking for a victim, but they can’t see the victim so a lot of the stuff they are doing is by feel,” Jeff Morgan, an instructor from Dive Rescue International.

The team had several scenarios to work through during the week, one of them searching for a knife underwater that was used in a crime.