Wautoma Area Fire Department Dive Team purchases Coms units from funds generated at the 2020 Polar Plunge held at the Silvercryst

For the past eight years the Wautoma Fire Department Dive Team has held a Polar Plunge at the Silvercyrst in Wautoma to earn money for equipment.  Last year they were able to purchase two Coms units, four masks, and two ropes.  The unit provides great communication from the person on the surface to the divers below.  The money raised from the 2021 Polar Plunge held on Feb. 21st will be used to purchase dry suits for the dive team.

The dive team consists of seven divers and six to seven tenders on top.  The divers are tethered to a rope and can talk to the tenders above.  This give better guidance to be able to locate a person or an item below the surface.

During the 2021 Polar Plunge at Silvercryst on Feb. 21st the Dive Team gave a demonstration of a float they purchased three years ago for water rescue.  Jayson Steuck, head of the dive team, said it is a great float device that can keep exposure down to minimum and keep the team out of the water as much as possible.  The unit floats on water and thin ice so if the victim can just grab onto the handles on the float, they can be pulled safely out of the water to shore where it is anchored by a floating rope.

Training for the dive team is extensive.  First one must be a member of the fire department and then be trained.  The fist training class is 2 days of classes in open water and divers are trained to dive 60 ft. The open water advanced class is also two days and takes divers to 130 ft.   The ice water rescue class is also a two-day class.  The team continues to train once a month for two hours.  Steuck said it is a lot of training but very necessary.  He said the dive team it is not the best job, is much needed.

The Wautoma Dive Team works closely with Neshkoro, Winnebago RADAR and Princeton.  Steuck added that they train together whenever possible.