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."
