See how Cape Coral's rescue divers train for life-saving missions

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

The Cape Coral Fire Department's team of rescue divers is rigorously trained to respond swiftly and effectively to emergencies involving vehicles in canals.

William Wood, a fire lieutenant and field training officer for the water rescue program, highlighted the prevalence of such incidents, saying, "There's a lot of cars that end up in canals here in Cape Coral, more than probably people know."

Wood explained the requirements for joining the dive team: "To be on the dive team, before you even apply, you have to have your open water and your rescue diver certifications through an outside agency."

Wood described the initial steps in a rescue operation: "The first thing we want to do is search the driver's side of the vehicle. The car got in there somehow."

Once a victim is located, the team works to safely extricate them. Wood detailed the procedure, saying, "Once the window's broken and the glass is cleared, the diver is going to go ahead and do a search without entering the car. For safety reasons, we don't want our diver actually entering the vehicle. That way, in case they get entrapped, we don't want to run into any situation where they need to be rescued."

Preparation begins before arriving on the scene, with equipment prepackaged for quick deployment. The fire truck is designed specifically for rescue divers, featuring a specialty compartment for dive gear. Wood described, "We have a specialty compartment in the back that specific to holding our dive gear, whether it's our communications, our spare bottles, any other type of dive equipment that we might carry."

The training is ongoing. Wood explained, "Our divers are required to do two training dives a year, and we alternate between night dives and boat days."

The importance of training was shown by a tragic incident in April 2024 in Riviera Beach, where a man died after crews attempted to rescue him from a car in a canal.

An independent review found the firefighters lacked training and made several mistakes, including breaking a window before the car was secured, which caused the car to sink.

Wood warned, "Without the proper training, you know, we might put ourselves in a situation where we become a victim as well."

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