La Crosse Fire Dept. creating dive-rescue team

Captain Griffith hopes team is ready by spring

First, swim 500 yards. Then another 800 with fins, snorkel and mask but no hands. Next, tread water 15 minutes. Then, tow a person 100 yards. Last, retrieve something at the bottom of the pool. 

That was the La Crosse Fire Department’s, sort of, tryout Monday at the YMCA pool to become a member of its now-forming dive and rescue team. The test itself is called Watermanship Test, and individuals did have a 15-minute break between each timed trial.

Captain Tom Griffith, who’s been a firefighter over 16 years, has been named the unit leader. Sixteen firefighters, two of which are on the La Crosse County dive unit already, are going through training this week with Richard Brackin, an Alabama native, who was brought in from Dive Rescue International.

The team will finish up pool training this morning at the Y, before heading to Lake Wazee in Black River Falls, Wis., to begin open-water training. Friday comes the final exam with Brackin, before weekly training begins through the winter.

Griffith said he hopes to have the team ready for action by spring. The plan for that is still in the works, however. He’s exploring as many options as possible to gain the most experience.

“We’ve been meeting with a few different people to come up with a gameplan on how we want this thing to look,” Griffith said. “We’ve talked to other departments to see what works and what doesn’t.”

Griffith wasn’t exactly sure how the idea came about for the La Crosse Fire Dept. to have a dive team. He also understands that firefighters already have a lot of responsibility, and adding another huge task is a lot to ask. But, when it comes to saving lives, whether that’s fighting fire or racing the clock in a dive rescue, Griffith believes the training and experience of a firefighter is the very thing sets them apart.

“They’re not the same, but they’re similar in what it takes to get your mind right, your body right and the skills you need to practice and be an expert at,” Griffith said. “Because what we’re dealing with is low volume and a high degree of risk.”