ORLANDO — When you think of fire fighters, your first thought is probably -- well, fires. But what about water?
- Orange County Fire Rescue has a dive team
- 147 dive-certified first responders
- Second largest team in the state
With more than 80 square miles of water, landlocked Orange County fire rescuers find themselves responding to vehicles in retention ponds, or responding to people hurt in our waterways. Over the past year the Orange County Fire Rescue Team began building their own dive team.
“When you think of the fire department, you think of us running into burning buildings. But when it comes to us at Orange County Fire Rescue, we are the first responders in any emergency, and in that case it involves being in the water,” said Orange County Fire Rescue Dive Team Lieutenant Brandon Allen.
Now OCFR dive team is the second largest in the state, with 147 dive-certified first responders who can all get ready to rescue you in about 90 seconds.
“If someone finds themselves in the water that’s gone into a retention point, really those first 30-45 seconds are so crucial. That’s when you are going to be able to get out that door or break out that window,” Allen said.
OCFR dive team members train in pools initially, but the water during rescues isn’t always that clear.
“We will black out our diver masks so it’s completely pitch black. So it’s training in those kind of conditions that will prepare them for those real-life situations,” Lt. Allen explained.
With about 30 calls for dive rescuers a year, Lt. Allen says his team will keep training and stay ready.
Spectrum News was told Orange County Fire Rescue hopes to have at least 200 dive certified first responders by the end of this year.