The Fredericksburg City Council approved a grant for $76,000 for the City Fire Department’s Water Rescue Team.
The grant was originally awarded to the fire department in October 2019 through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management which got funding from the Department of Homeland Security.
The goal seeks to expand and improve water rescue operations throughout Virginia. The Fire Department will use the grant to purchase equipment to bring its water rescue squad up to code with the rules set by the state Department of Emergency Management.
The equipment is expected to upgrade the water rescue squad to a National Incident Management System Type Three team. This level would certify the team to be deployed statewide to where water-related emergencies are occurring. Such emergencies would include situations such as hurricanes and localized flooding.
The Fredericksburg Fire Department’s Water Rescue Squad has operated in the city for the last 27 years. The squad is trained and equipped to handle emergencies like swift water rescue, ice rescue, and dive-related calls, typically on the Rappahannock River. The team also performs dives for evidence recovery or for victims who go missing below the surface.
According to Water Rescue Captain Corey Landon, the team handles on average over 30 water-related rescue related emergencies every year. Those rescues involve people being pulled from the Rappahannock who cannot swim back to shore or have been injured somehow while in the river.
“We look forward to providing the highest quality service in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and its other state-supported teams. The funding provided by this grant will ensure that we are equipped to safely handle any emergency we are requested to help mitigate,” stated Capt. Landon in a letter to PLN.
