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550 SE 8th St
Evansville, IN 47713
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Water Rescue

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The Dive Team consists of 28 firefighters who are trained as Public Safety and Dive Rescue Specialist divers.  The divers respond from fire stations within Evansville, but the cadre of equipment is at Station #3, and thus all firefighters from Station #3 support the team as dive tenders, boat operators, or equipment maintenance.  The dive team utilizes Intespiro Divator & OTS Stealth full-face dive mask with underwater communications, and DUI dry suits that enable divers to enter contaminated or cold waters.  DUI TLS350 Public Safety dry suits have been added to the PPE inventory to diversify our dry suit capability, and the flexibility of their Zip Seal technology to better fit more divers around their necks & wrists.  Should water rescue operations require the need of a boat, EFD is fortunate to have three capable boats, one of which was newly purchased in 2018.  Our primary boat is a 22’ Scorpion aluminum hull, V8 jet-drive boat that is also capable of providing 2,500 gallons of water per minute for firefighting operations, and a Hummingbird side scan sonar allowing us to scan the bottom of the Ohio River for submerged objects.  The new Rescue One boat is 16.5’ and powered by a 60HP Mercury outboard motor with driver’s console, emergency & scene lighting, and a Helix Side/Down Scanner.  EFD’s new boat will be our primary boat for Pigeon Creek or similar waters, and assist our 22’ Scorpion on the Ohio River. In 2019, we replaced our Zodiac inflatable with a Zodiac ERB 380 inflatable with a 20 HP Mercury outboard motor.  The Zodiac will be utilized for lake responses, and to support our two Ohio River boats. Captain Grubb serves the dive team as its Instructor, and Captains Barnard, Brown, and Brock serve as team leaders.