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Search and Rescue crews practice raising sunken
automobile in Pend Oreille |
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August 25, 2014 |
(From
Boundary County Information Office and NewsBF)
Rescue Divers from Boundary and Bonner Counties
have completed a difficult training exercise
involving a sunken automobile in Lake Pend
Oreille.
In the exercise, an automobile stripped of
hazardous fluids was rolled off a barge into the
lake close to Kramer Marina in Hope, Idaho. The
submerged auto had additional
weights added to simulate the removed fluids and
any cargo normally found in such vehicle for
reality.
Rescue Divers not only work in the poorest of
visibility, but must also develop the ability to
move these sunken vehicles into an upright
position and then to the surface. All this
movement of the vehicle is done with the correct
attachment of lift bags which are then inflated
as needed.
Divers Scott Brown, Dave Kramer, and Caleb Watts
of the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office
attached two lift bags, each capable of lifting
2000 pounds, to roll the overturned vehicle from
its roof to an upright position, and then raise
it to the surface. After an all day exercise of
hard work and training, the raised automobile
was removed from the lake.
According to Dave Kramer, "Being able to
practice and use lift bags in a controlled
situation improves our skills for the times that
we have to use them in actual events. This was
great training that was also very fun."
 Training opportunities such as this give our
Rescue Divers the chance to practice their
skills, work together with Boundary and Bonner
County, and learn how to accomplish very
difficult tasks which in real life are needed
within our region.
"Over the years, I have been involved with the
recovery of several things off the bottom of
lakes where we have had to use lift bags,
including boats, snowmobiles, and vehicles,"
said Mr. Kramer. "But like any skill, if
you don’t practice or use it very often, you can
lose some of that knowledge."
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