MONROE — In the cold and the dark and the silence, they look for life. The relatively new county-wide team of rescue swimmers drilled Monday at Lake Tye Park. The highly trained swimmers came from fire departments in Monroe, Clearview, Gold Bar and Everett.
The team got started about two years ago with a dozen swimmers and has grown to more than 20. Eventually, the idea is to have the swimmers available around the county and around the clock, ready to launch whenever people go missing in local waters, said Erik Liddiatt, a Monroe fire battalion chief.
Because of the dangers, most firefighters and police officers aren’t allowed to enter water without special training. Drownings happen every year in Snohomish County, particularly in the summertime. They happen in local lakes, rivers and in Puget Sound.
Just last week, the team helped save an angler who fell into Martha Lake, said Brendan Grace, a Clearview-area firefighter and rescue swimmer.
Grace put together a binder with maps of local bodies of water and their coordinates, depths and average temperatures. His district includes Lost Lake, Echo Lake and other swimming holes.
Even knowing in advance what materials make up the bottom — such as gravel versus silt — can be helpful, he said.
It’s dark and cold and silent under water, he said. The team needed swimmers who could face that intimidating environment and still make rescues.
In general, successful rescues of near-drowning victims have to happen within an hour of someone slipping under.
Firefighter Clay Mattern made a similar reference book for his colleagues in Monroe. Lake Tye, which can get packed on a hot day, is known to reach at least 30 feet in depth.
It’s easy for someone to take a step too far out from shore and lose their bearings in a drop-off, Liddiatt said.
A 14-year-old Everett boy drowned in Lake Tye in 2012. The same month, a 12-year-old boy drowned in Martha Lake near Mill Creek.
Since the team was started, Fire District 7 aims to keep certified rescue swimmers on every shift.
One of Monday’s drills involved pulling a baby doll from a sunken truck cab with locked doors. Another was an overturned kayak. Mattern played the part of a fisherman who’d capsized and was missing his friend. The crews practiced spot searches, grid searches and deep dives, using masks, fins and snorkels.
Firefighter Rusty Hunt stopped the rescue boat short of the scene to watch as the rain fell.
Bubbles broke the surface in a spot not far off. A diver was at work below.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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