How the Carmel Fire Department prepares for water rescues during summer

CARMEL — Do you have what it takes to be a first responder?

Being in the water — whether you're swimming, on a boat or a float can be fun. It can also become dangerous quickly.

That’s why the Carmel Fire Department and other agencies across the country take training for water rescues so seriously.

“Every day can guarantee we're going to be driving our truck. Not every day we're going to be in these boats driving them so we need to make sure that we're well-practiced for those runs,” said Tim Griffin, the public information officer for the Carmel Fire Department.

As we hit the peak of summer and spend more time in and around water, training for water rescues is at the top of firefighters' minds.

“As soon as something does happen, the public expects and deserves the best and they need to have people trained — so that’s why we’re out here today,” said Lt. Andy Wyant.

The boat isn’t the first resource they turn to in a water emergency but still something they need to know how to use.

They follow the motto "reach, throw, row, go" and use the boat to get to the victims as quickly as possible and pull them out of the water.

While training days may look like a lot of fun, responders know just how important it is they train for every scenario.

“Our first goal was to get down there guys with life vests and throw ropes and just get eyes on it and see what we have, then develop a plan following 'reach, throw, row, go,'” Wyant said.

Crews do this training several times during the summer to make sure they are prepared for any scenario.