Rescue & Recovery Divers Take the Plunge

I’m simply a part-time associate diver with Parsippany Rescue and Recovery. However, there are a lot of dedicated men and women who volunteer their time at all hours of the day and night and in all kinds of weather conditions. These people deserve recognition. Really, this story is about them.

The story: A joint training dive for members of Parsippany R&R and the Pequannock Fire Department.  We met at the Parsippany R&R headquarters in Lake Hiawatha's Volunteers Park Sunday at 8 a.m. There, we prepared and loaded the equipment needed for the dive. Then we drove to the Jersey City Reservoir’s administrative building on Greenbank Road, across from the dam, where we conducted classroom training with our personnel until about 9:30 a.m. 

The purpose of the training was to familiarize our personnel with the inner workings of the Jersey City Reservoir’s dam and the difficulties they could encounter during a rescue or recovery operation in and around the dam. In that respect, it went exceedingly well. But the undertaking was more difficult and complicated then we had imagined.

At 10 a.m., we proceeded to the dam and dive operations began. We knew going in that we would be diving in a confined space of roughly 5 feet by 5 feet by 55 feet deep. We also knew the water temperatures would to be in the 30-degree range. The outside temperature was in the high 20s.

Due to the confined space, each diver dove alone.

Each diver had two tenders.  The tender’s job, which is critically important, was to help the diver with his or her equipment and to monitor activity during the dive. 

Divers were tethered to a line that one of the tenders held.  Through a series of prearranged “line pulls,” the diver and tender maintained communication. 

Each dive lasted approximately 15 minutes. 

Our first diver discovered that the area in which we were to work was filled with objects that presented significant risk for entanglement. This combined with poor viability made the dive more challenging than anticipated.  Upon completing his dive, the first diver warned the others what to expect and the operation continued without incident.

The obstacles we encountered were the purpose for the training dive. If an actual rescue or recovery has to be made at this facility in the future, our divers will be prepared to work in that challenging and alien environment. 

This was a safe and successful exercise because of the professionalism and teamwork shown the members of Parsippany’s R&R and the Pequannock Fire Department.

Special recognition should be given to Parsippany R&R’s Dive Team Coordinator, Glen Foli, and to Allison Orr, who planned and organized the dive. A great deal of this dive’s success—its safe conclusion—is due to Incident Commander Bill Bottino and Safety Officer Craig Munson of the Pequannock Fire Department, who played pivotal roles as we dived.

As they do so often at our dives, members of the Rockaway Neck Volunteer First Aid Squad stood by with an ambulance in case of emergency. They also did pre- and post-dive evaluations of the divers, including checks of blood pressure and heart rate.

Keith Wood and the staff of United Water, which administers the Jersey City Reservoir, must be thanked for their able assistance. They helped us at every stage providing everything we requested.  They could not have been more helpful.

— Parsippany Police Deputy Chief Paul Philipps