RENTON, Wash. — Firefighters in Renton are ready to jump in to rescue swimmers in distress without waiting for the dive team.
The rescue swimmer program has firefighters trained to jump in with masks and fins right when they get to a rescue situation.
The dive team is called out, too, but is usually farther away. The Renton Fire Department found getting rescue swimmers in the water right away saves time and can save lives.
"The quicker we can get to the victim underwater the higher survivability rate those victims have when we pull them out of the water," said Renton Firefighter Jesse Sears.
Renton has 15 rescue swimmers situated at fire stations throughout the city.
Today firefighters from Station 12 demonstrated how the rescue swimmer program works at Gene Coulon Memorial Park on Lake Washington. When the engine pulled up firefighter Jesse Sears jumped out and ran toward the water carrying his fins, mask and snorkel. He put them on while other firefighters asked witnesses for the last spot the swimmer, in this case another firefighter, was seen.
"We ask them to pick a spot on the horizon as a reference point of the line of sight where they saw the person go down, " described Luke Alvarado, acting lieutenant of the Renton Fire Department. The rescue swimmer located the swimmer in distress and pulled him back to shore.
The rescue swimmer program started in the past year and quickly spread throughout Zone 3, which makes up most of South King County.
There are about 100 trained rescue swimmers.
If the rescue swimmer is unable to locate the person who went under. The rescue swimmer marks the last seen point with a buoy. The work of the rescue swimmer gives the dive team a head start when it arrives. It saves time and helps improve the chances of saving a life.
Station 12 houses Renton Fire Department's Dive Team. The dive team is regional and practices every Sunday at a different lake in South King County. They train with rescue swimmers from other fire departments so they are ready to work together in an emergency.
"The faster we can make contact with someone- whether it be a life guard, rescue swimmer, or dive technician -- the better our outcome will be," added Alvarado.
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