West Fargo Fire Department’s First Water Rescue Training

West Fargo firefighters are tackling a new element other than fire.

The West Fargo Fire Department got some shiny new water and ice rescue gear.

The equipment includes a 16th Zodiac Grand Raider boat with 20hp Mercury Outboard and trailer, 15-foot Oceanaid Rapid Deployment Craft, life safety ropes and eight sets of ice/water rescue suits and helmets.

Today, they took advantage of the equipment and went straight to work on training firefighters on how to save lives out in the water.

It may seem odd at first to see firefighters jump into a pool for training.

But it’s not fire they’re fighting for today’s exercise.

They’re bulking up for when they need to hit the river or lakes for a rescue.

“I guess I didn’t realize how small helmets can make that much of a difference,” says West Fargo firefighter Joe Johnson.

He’s talking about learning how to use his helmet and gear for buoyancy.

Johnson is one of the 20 firefighters taking a dip with their 50 pound bunker gear.

There’s four hours in the classroom and eight hours hands-on experience that even the volunteer firefighters have to learn.

“With more body of waters around, the more training we can have, the more diversified we are, the best we are to better serve the community,” says West Fargo Assistant Fire Chief Rory Jorgenson.

“I’m just excited. I’ve been thinking about this all week. So I figured whatever my dad said, ‘It’s better you than me.’ So I don’t know, I think it’ll be fun. That way we can have better protection for the city,” says Johnson.

Firemen can take a great deal of heat and by the looks of it, plunging into the water is not a problem either.

“We’re going to try to do it every year because everyone needs to be trained in this because we don’t know who actually going to show up from our department on that shift,” says Jorgenson.

The West Fargo Fire Department spent the other half of the day out at the Charleswood Lake to do simulated rescue.