Hall County Fire Rescue says its divers will operate a drone that can reach depths of up to 305 meters and has a camera, a sonar system and a robotic arm

By Ben Anderson The Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Hall County’s Marine Rescue Team will replace its dive team with an underwater drone that will be used to try to rescue and recover drowning victims.

Hall County Fire Chief Chris Armstrong said there will be few changes.

“The only difference is that rather than send a person down in dive gear to either do a rescue or recovery of a person underwater, we’re using an underwater drone to do that instead,” Armstrong said.

That means the fire department will no longer have divers who are trained and equipped to jump in the water and rescue people who have gone underwater or recover people who have drowned.

Divers will be replaced by a $100,000 underwater drone that can be deployed in three minutes or less and reach depths of up to 305 meters, according to the department. The drone is equipped with a camera, a sonar system and a robotic arm that can grab onto drowning victims and tow them to the surface. In effect, divers will become drone operators.

The robot is expected to arrive in January, and Armstrong said they will spend the six months after that training firefighters to operate it, in time for Memorial Day. The fire department will also be purchasing a boat with a fire hose that is expected to cost around $650,000.

Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman B.J. Williams said they are not planning to make any changes to their Underwater Search and Rescue dive team.

Some people are worried about these changes, including Todd Jordan, an emergency physician at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center who says he and his wife are certified dive instructors who have been training the fire department’s dive team for the last 10 years.

In a post in the Lanier Lake Life Facebook group, he wrote, “If the Public Safety Divers respond to a boat fire and see burnt victims jump overboard, they cannot go underwater after them. If there is a drowning, they will have to stand on the shore or stay on the boat without attempting to save a life. They will only be able to operate a robot. If they respond to a jumper on a bridge and see them jump, they cannot dive to save them. If they respond to a car off a bridge in ten feet of water with children trapped in car seats, they cannot help. Robots cannot enter a car to save a human child in a car seat. Robots cannot untangle themselves when they are trapped in fishing line and trees. It IS possible to save a person in this lake.”

He added: “As a citizen of Hall County, I find this very concerning. I feel that all the residents in North Georgia, who frequent Lake Lanier, should be aware of this potentially dangerous change and that they will no longer be protected by a Public Safety Dive Team.”

Jordan reiterated those concerns in an interview with The Times.

Armstrong said their divers haven’t saved a single drowning victim in the 20 years since the county’s Marine Rescue Team was founded. In the past five years, there have been 32 drownings, and the dive team has responded to 10 of them. They have recovered four bodies but saved zero lives.

Armstrong said he isn’t sure whether the underwater drone might have more success, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try.

“We’re still doing rescues,” he said. “We’re just changing the way we’re rescuing people.”

Lake Lanier is one of the most visited lakes with 12 million enjoying its waters annually.

In 2022, six people drowned in the lake.

The decision is also motivated by concerns about diver safety.

“One of the most risky things we do is diving in that lake,” Armstrong said. “If I spend a lot of time, energy and money diving in that lake and I haven’t saved anybody — and all I’m doing is, unfortunately, bringing deceased victims out of the water — rather than risk my divers, why would I not use technology to do that instead?”

Commission Chairman Richard Higgins echoed Armstrong’s concerns about diver safety. “It’s really dangerous to dive in Lake Lanier,” he said.

Commissioner Shelly Echols said the decision to replace the dive team with a robot is supported by the data.

“People are expecting that this team goes out and they dive and they rescue people drowning, and the data shows that that just doesn’t happen,” she said, adding that by the time the dive team arrives, assesses the area and puts on all their gear, the operation inevitably shifts from rescue to recovery. Armstrong said a rescue becomes a recovery 30 minutes after a person goes under.

Echols said she is frustrated that none of the people raising concerns on social media have reached out to commissioners or county staff.

“The rumor mill goes running rampant and that’s really frustrating as an elected official, that people would rather just take to social media and spread rumors instead of actually calling or emailing to find out for sure what’s going on and why things are being done.”

Police reports showed the driver was drunk when he struck Firefighter Johnn Tetrick, who was working a rollover crash at the time of the incident

By Rachel Engel FireRescue1

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cuyahoga County judge set the bail for a driver accused of killing a Cleveland firefighter at $500,000, ABC 13 reported. 

Leander Bissell, 40, was indicted on charges of murder, felonious assault, involuntary manslaughter, failure to stop after an accident, failure to comply and aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of Firefighter Johnny Tetrick. 

One of Tetrick’s three daughters spoke at Bissell’s arraignment, requesting bail be set at $1 million.

“I would like to ask the court for a million dollar bond on Mr. Bissell’s prior record, the fact that he fled the scene, he was inebriated and he killed my father,” she said.

Police reports showed Bissell was drunk when he struck Tetrick, who was working a rollover crash at the time of the incident. He later died from his injuries.

Bissell then fled the scene, police said. He was arrested several hours later at a Cleveland home.

A court date for Bissell is set for Dec. 7.

Family, friends and colleagues gathered to honor Tetrick at a funeral ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 26. 

To participate, junior firefighters will need permission from their parent or guardian and the fire chief.

Source The Mercury, Pottstown, Pa. (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Dec. 2—WEST CHESTER — Junior firefighters will now have an earlier opportunity to access the training they need to become full firefighters across Pennsylvania, state Sen. Carolyn Comitta said.

Act 155 of 2022 allows junior firefighters, age 17, to train on live-burn, interior firefighter modules. Currently, only those 18 and older are allowed to enroll in this training program.

Comitta, who serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, said the measure helps ensure that junior firefighters are immediately able to serve as full-fledged firefighters once they turn 18.

PA Cadets Put Through the Paces at Training Academy 

“I hope this law helps bolster the ranks of our volunteer firefighters by harnessing the interest and energy young people have for the fire service and empowering them to hit the ground running once they turn 18,” she said. “Our fire companies continue to face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining volunteers. Allowing young people to access this training earlier is one way we can help ensure they continue serving our communities.”

The bill, sponsored by Senator Pat Stefano, unanimously passed the legislature and was recently signed into law by the governor.

To participate in live burns, junior firefighters would need their parent or guardian’s permission and the local fire chief’s permission. The training would be completed under the instruction of a credentialed Pennsylvania State Fire Academy instructor.

Atlanta firefighters found two victims after conducting an aggressive fire attack.

By Rosana Hughes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Two people were found dead in a Bankhead-Bolton home in northwest Atlanta after a fire Saturday morning, according to fire officials.

Atlanta fire crews responded to the home in the 900 block of Bolton Road around 8:30 a.m. and found heavy fire coming from the one-story house, a fire department statement read. Firefighters aggressively attacked the fire until it was fully extinguished.

Once it was safe to search the home, crews found one victim in a front room on the right side of the house and another in a front room on the left side, the statement read.

A gas leak was later discovered in the front yard of the residence, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A Palestine firefighter, who was shot in the leg, is expected to be OK.

By Pennylynn Webb Source Palestine Herald-Press, Texas (TNS) Firehouse.com News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Dec. 3—The Palestine Police Department is investigating the shooting of a city firefighter.

According to Chief Mark Harcrow, at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, emergency services responded to a reported “accidental shooting” at Palestine’s Fire Station #2, 107 Seventh Street.

“Witnesses stated that a member of the department was outside of the station showing another firefighter a new handgun when it discharged, striking their co-worker in the leg,” Harcrow said. “The handgun was stored in the personal vehicle of the firefighter prior to the incident.”

Harcrow said the firefighter had been struck in the lower portion of his body by a single round from the handgun.

Harcrow said members of the Palestine Fire Department administered medical aid immediately following the incident and the firefighter was transported to Palestine Regional Medical Center in stable condition and he is expected to recover.

Harcrow said the Palestine Fire Department employee that shot his co-worker has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.

Chief Niles Ford led the Baltimore Fire Department for eight years before resigning as the report on the Jan. 24 row house fire where three firefighters died was released.

Source Firehouse.com News

Baltimore City Fire Chief Niles Ford has resigned following the release of an investigative report into the line of duty deaths of three firefighters in January.

Ford’s resignation is effective immediately, Mayor Brandon Scott told WJZ. 

He led the department for eight years.

Lt. Paul Butrim, Firefighter/Paramedic Kelsey Sadler, and Firefighter/Paramedic Kenneth Lacayo were killed in the Jan. 14 row house fire. 

Scott said in a statement: “The report outlines the events that occurred on January 24, 2022, along with findings and recommendations that will be implemented to ensure that a tragedy like this will never happen again, My administration will immediately establish an accountability program to ensure that these recommendations are properly implemented and that we have a department that is not only committed to protecting and saving the lives of our residents, but is equally committed to carrying out this work in a manner that also safeguards the lives of those men and women who selflessly serve others on a daily basis.”