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Safety agencies practice to make perfect

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Jeff Winiarski, left, of the town of Beloit Police Department, and Jay WIlliams with the Rock County Sheriff’s Department, practice a retrieval of Oscar, a rescue dummy near Preservation Park in Beloit during a weekend training exercise Sunday.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

John Van Dinter with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, keeps an eye on the activity on the Rock River near Preservation Park during a water rescue training event.

BELOIT TOWNSHIP — Cooperate with others.

The message was big for children’s television star Mr. Rogers—a gentle soul who spent a lot of time in make-believe land. And it’s even bigger in the deadly serious business of finding a body in the chilly currents of the Rock River.

On Sunday, Stateline fire and law enforcement personnel gathered at Preservation Park in Beloit Township to practice rescue techniques and, more important, to learn about working well with others.

“It’s easier to work with friends than strangers,” said Brad Cheske, second lieutenant with the Town of Beloit Fire Department.

Participants included officers from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office and firefighters from the Brodhead, town of Beloit, South Beloit and Harlan Roscoe departments.

Sunday’s exercises on the Rock River were the culmination of a two-day training session that covered “incident command systems” and search and rescue techniques, said Jim Wenzler, Coast Guard staff officer for public affairs.

“Incident command” is an innocuous phrase that covers who’s in charge of what, when they’re in charge and how to manage a crisis without having a crisis.

During Sunday’s training, emergency responders tried out new search patterns on the Rock River and practiced fishing a Coast Guard dummy named “Oscar” out of the water.

Sure, the officers had been together before, both in training and emergency situations. The training served as a reinforcement of what they already knew—and a reminder that still more learning is essential.

“Today, we’re learning from each other, too,” said Sgt. Josh Lund of the Rock County Sheriff’s Office.

Lund is part of his boat patrol and water rescue team.

The group, which trains twice a month throughout the year, soon will become a part of a larger group called the “Recreational Safety Team.” Along with their work on the Rock River and Lake Koshkonong, the team will train with snowmobiles and ATVs for off road emergencies.