VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Members of the Valley City Barnes County Rescue Squad and Dive Team conducted a cold water night rescue training with an air temperature of 24 degrees and a water temperature of 37 degrees on Wednesday, November 17th about 7PM that evening.
Fire Chief Scott Magnuson said it was time to make sure all of our equipment was ready for the colder temperatures. He said we had our divers in dive gear and wet suits rotate in the cold water and we had our boat in the river and rescue members in our cold water rescue suits and others tending ropes for safety.
Magnuson said our dive team practices once a month to stay proficient and ready to respond when they are needed. He said with the cold temps and the start of the ice season we take special precautions being this is the time of the year that accidents on the river are most prevalent and are the most dangerous for our divers. He said, “I am extremely proud of all our members as it takes a whole team from divers to firefighters and rescue members to make this happen. There is a lot of time spent in preparing for all rescues and remember it is all done by volunteers.”
