Looking at a sonar screen may not reveal a lot to the untrained eye, but to the Saskatoon Fire Department water rescue team it’s a clear indicator of objects in the South Saskatchewan River.
Over the past two weeks, the team has been completing various dive rescue, recovery and sonar training scenarios.
“The scenario they just played out was a jumper from the bridge who was witnessed and went under water,” explained Anthony Tataryn, staff development and safety division assistant fire chief.
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Once crews on one boat located the dummy using sonar, two divers from the other entered the water to investigate and retrieve the object. During winter when there’s ice, a third safety boat is added.
Boat crews steer divers using tethered rope and different tugs to signal turning left and right. Divers can only see about three feet in front of them underwater.
“In addition to that divers are talking headset to headset underneath the water,” Tataryn said.
Using the sonar device, it took the rescue team less than an hour to find and recover the dummy. Tataryn said the federally funded $80,000 piece of equipment has been a game changer.
“We can use our divers much more tactically and keep them out of harms way … We can look for obstructions under the water and those sorts of things,” Tataryn said.
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According to the fire department, they’re the only agency in the province with this type of boat-mounted sonar capability.
The water rescue team has responded to 54 calls so far this year and 30 of those were code reds, which require immediate life-saving intervention.