COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus firefighters and the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department’s park operations staff teamed up at Mill Race Park on Tuesday afternoon to train with a potentially lifesaving tool, water rescue throw bags.
The Columbus Fire Department (CFD) contributed to the training by providing a rescue throw bag presentation to approximately 30 members of the parks operations staff who commonly work along rivers that border community parks located within the city.
Following the educational session on throw bag use, park operations staff members participated in hands-on skills scenarios commonly practiced by first responders. At the conclusion of the practice session, several Columbus firefighters entered the Flatrock River and posed as distressed swimmers in need of assistance. Parks staff members utilized their training to deploy rescue throw bags to successfully rescue firefighters from the river.
In 2007, the Columbus Parks Department placed water rescue throw bags in all park operations vehicles to serve as a first response tool for park staff working at city park properties near rivers. Since 2017, the Columbus Fire Department and Columbus Parks Department have worked together to conduct several training exercises to keep skill levels high. Today’s training was implemented to provide refresher training for incumbent staff while also providing initial training for recently hired personnel for both agencies.
The Donner Aquatics Center, located at Donner Park, provides firefighters with pool access for CFD water-rescue training needs each year. Recently, firefighters utilized the Donner pool for non-motorized boat operations training for all three shifts of firefighters and use the pool for annual swim test qualifications for CFD water rescue technician certification.
Columbus firefighters and parks personnel practice water rescue techniques using throw bags at the Flatrock River in Mill Race Park on Tuesday.
