Seventeen divers attended the SW Washington Regional Dive Training in Skamania County on Saturday, at Drano Lake. Divers had the opportunity to work with an actually submerged vehicle, making the training as realistic as possible.
Seventeen divers attended the SW Washington Regional Dive Training in Skamania County on Saturday, at Drano Lake. Divers had the opportunity to work with an actually submerged vehicle, making the training as realistic as possible.
Every year, the Skamania County Sheriff’s office dive team responds to numerous vehicles submerged in water. The vehicles end up underwater from collisions, stolen vehicles, insurance frauds, and persons intentionally trying to conceal various crime scenes.
On Saturday, Aug. 8, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office hosted a SW Washington Regional Dive Training at Drano Lake. Seventeen divers, along with support personnel, Skamania County Sheriff’s Rescue Boat, and two tow trucks from Bob’s Towing from Carson participated.
“We used an actual vehicle to make the training as realistic as possible. Bob’s Towing donated the vehicle for the training,” said Sgt. Arne Gonser. He noted, before the vehicle was allowed to be submerged, all fluids were drained and the vehicle was pressure washed to prevent any contaminants from escaping.
During the training, divers were instructed to locate and do an underwater crime scene survey. Once found, the vehicle was marked with a floated buoy, then divers returned to shore. There they advised the crime scene status, condition and position of the vehicle. Once all information was relayed, they had to work with the tow truck operators to ferry cables and chains out to the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled from the water then reinserted for the next set of divers.
“Working with submerged objects can be very strenuous and dangerous. Most often the dive is done with limited or no visibility making the divers do everything by feel,” Sgt. Gonser said.
He added, this type of training is crucial so divers can train in a controlled environment and gain the needed skills before they have to respond to an actual dive operation.
“Bob’s Towing played a very important role today and did a tremendous job working with the divers. The efforts make our divers more proficient and we could not have done the training without them,” Sgt. Gonser said.
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