Water Rescue & Recovery

from 2021 OFPD Annual Report

Apparatus

Water Rescue & Recovery

Lieutenant Dan Ritchie

MABAS 19 Dive Team

The Orland Fire District has 16 members that are part of the MABAS 19/22 Water Rescue and Recovery Team. Our team responds to all water related incidents involving rescue or recovery within the MABAS 19/22 jurisdiction and beyond, on an as needed basis. This response area covers about 450 square miles, which includes a variety of water ranging from numerous retention ponds, rivers and navigational water ways.

Team training was conducted twice a month and consisted of:  Annual Swim Test and SCUBA skills review  Ice Diver Training  Scenario based training (surface and subsurface)  Surface Supplied Air Training  Swift Water Technician Training  Sonar Training  Underwater Evidence Recovery Training  Water Craft Training Our team responded to 3 incidents in 2021. These incidents included calls for evidence recovery in ponds and a person missing in a river. Our members put in over 380 training hours this past year. Three members: Lieutenant Ritchie, Firefighter Zweizig, and Firefighter Duer, obtained their FEMA Swift/Flood Water Boat Operations certification. Our team is looking forward to more training opportunities in 2022 to further advance our skills and abilities.