So you all probably know that I'm a scuba diver. I'm not sure I've ever mentioned that I'm also a member of an underwater rescue team in the area. I joined about a year ago and haven't been called out on a single call. Until this morning.
5:40 in the morning, my pager goes off. At first I didn't even get out of bed since this wouldn't be the first time the pager's gone off only to have dispatch come on and apologize (not apologize exactly - more like just tell us to disregard the page) for toning us out. They have a habit of hitting the wrong button over there sometimes. I think they find it funny. "Hey, let's wake up all those dive team people at some insane hour and set their hearts all racing." Usually takes me about an hour to get back to sleep after... But not this time. Submerged vehicle in a pond a couple of towns over. So I jump up, heart pounding, get dressed and hop in the Jeep for a wild 10 minute drive with red lights flashing (first time for me - would have been really thrilling except for the thought that there just might be somebody drowning), cars are ducking out of my way left and right (what power!). On the way it comes over the radio that there is nobody in the vehicle. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't somebody still in the water around the vehicle. So, they tell us to continue to the site, and I do. Somewhere in the back of my head is a niggling little thought about how I don't have any air tanks with me (they're all being oxygen cleaned at the moment). Oh, well. I was sure somebody must have had an extra tank. So I race onward, frantically trying to locate the road I'm supposed to go to on my map. Small town, even smaller road on an unimportant pond (except to me at that moment), so of course the road isn't on the map. Apparently somebody else was having the same problem because dispatch came over the radio and gave (slightly) better directions to the scene. Apparently they were good enough because I found the place right away. I have to say I was relieved to see two other team members already on site (my worst fear is being the first one to arrive and, being new, not have a clue what I'm supposed to be doing - ok, second worst fear - my absolute worst fear is being the ONLY person on the scene). I hopped out of the Jeep and ran over to see what was going on and what I could do. I was asked to help Dean suit up so he could do a sweep around the truck to look for a victim. So I did. I had just made my way down to the water's edge when Bill, our shore support guy (the guy who keeps track of who's in the water, how much air we have, how long we've been down, and, most importantly, that everybody makes it back out of the water) asks me for my Accountability Tag. I reach for my wallet... whoops, no wallet. I had left the house in such a hurry that I had completely forgotten my wallet. Guess I'll have to keep that tag in my Jeep at all times, along with the rest of my gear. So anyway, we got Dean all suited up and in the water along with another team mate who showed up mostly geared (she suited up while her husband, who is also on the team, drove). It was a red truck, with all sorts of equipment in the back, including a diesel tank and pump that was leaking out into the water, so we also radioed for a HazMat truck to clean up the spill. The pair conducted a search pattern around the truck, finding only a registration slip. Thankfully, there was nobody around the vehicle. The registration showed the vehicle belonged to a construction company in the area. It was suspected to be stolen, but nobody knows for sure that I know of.
So when all was said and done, I was out of there about an hour after I showed up. I was back home by 7:00, in the shower and here at work by 7:45. I'm wide awake and pretty wired. Hopefully there will be a lot to do today. Anyway, I just thought I'd share.
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Topic: That'll wake you up in the morning! (Read 1130 times)