The Good Life – September-October 2014

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divers’ all have ear and mouthpieces to communicate, technology is not 100 percent fool proof, and the tether line is their back up in case the first method fails. The lightheartedness and bantering of the group takes a more serious tone as everyone gets into place. Anyone having anything to do with VWR’s rescue team must have an inflatable life jacket on. No life jacket, no passing through. I watched as one diver who has been checked out thoroughly by his Tender, and has his tether line hooked up, is now sitting patiently on a bolder. It is above 85 degrees outside and I can only imagine how horribly uncomfortable this man wearing thermal underwear, a dry suit and about 65 pounds of gear must feel. This is the back-up diver for the two who are already in the water scouring around for the pieces of rebar they are challenged to find. There are always three divers prepared to hit the water at all times. In the event one diver runs into a tangled line, or any one of a hundred things that could possibly mess up a diver, there will always be another on land to help pull him out. Imagine diving five or ten feet in the dark — yes, in the dark, because while it is light above the water, the Red River is filled with clay silt and is anything but transparent. Contrary to popular lore, the Red River really is not filthy or even polluted; it just has tons of clay in it. Duane Kashmark, a long-time member of the VWR team and current owner of Mick’s Scuba, described diving in the Red River to me, “diving in the Red 34
is like having blinders on. I’ve actually gone in, and after a few minutes, I have to remind myself if my eyes are really closed or not.” Often the team has to go into rivers and other bodies of water in the nighttime or wee early morning hours. They always have a light on their suits, but knowing what to do and how to handle nighttime dives is as tricky as it gets in these types of water retrievals. Diving the Red is similar. A diver has found a piece of the rebar! This practice session was a success. FIRE DEPARTMENTS DO MORE THAN FIGHT FIRES Our local fire fighter should be acknowledged for what they do in water rescue as well. VWR works in conjunction with all local fire departments who are in control of rescue operations and will use VWR’s expertise when needed. I was invited to watch as Captain Dave Allen of Moorhead’s Southside Fire Station led his Fire Fighters at the Oakgrove Bridge for their monthly training session the week before the VWR team had their practice session. The Moorhead guys were training how to read the current in order to know where their diver should enter the water and where best to place the bright orange fences they use in helping to rescue animals and people. We in the FM area are indeed very fortunate to have so many dedicated people and teams in place should any one of us ever need a water rescue.
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The Good Life – September-October 2014

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