I would like to share an idea one of our teammates came up with. It worked well so I figured I would pass it along in case anyone else has a similar need.
Last week we were asked to search for a laundry list of stolen items that allegedly thrown into a lake. Our lakes can range from 6 inches of vis to 10 feet of vis. While most have 1-3 feet of visibility the one we were asked to search had 5-6 feet of vis, as long and the divers stayed positive and watched where their fin wash was directed. In addition to having good visibility, the water was also shallow; for the most part less than 6 feet. The lake was approximately 35,000 square feet.
One of our teammates had the idea that we should raise the ladder on our ladder truck so we would have enough elevation to look down into the lake. In the past we have elevated spotters on the pilot house roof on our boat, on top of bridges, and by helicopter but we had never used a resource that is always immediately available to us, the ladder truck. I don't know why we have not done it previously so I figured what the heck, we would give it a try.
The ladder was elevated over the lake and a spotter climbed out to the tip and reported "nothing showing." I initially suspected it was because the water was deep or the vis was poor. The spotter on the ladder then advised that he could see beer cans, beer bottles and various trash items on the lake bottom but no evidence ... nothing.
Because we were already geared up to dive we shifted to a training mode and the divers confirmed there was no evidence in the lake. Putting a spotter on the tip of the ladder took five minutes and told us the same thing the divers took more than an hour to confirm.
I know my friends on this forum are not all blessed have shallow waters and good vis but I throw the idea out to the group. When situations allow and the need arises, consider using the truck company (ladder truck) as a resource. Had evidence been observed in our lake we could have taken photos at elevation and had good documentation on where items were located in proximity to landmarks and other pieces of evidence.
FYI only...
Blades
ONE LAST IDEA WE CONSIDERED ... elevating the line tender to prevent searchlines form hanging up on vegetation underwater.
Last week we were asked to search for a laundry list of stolen items that allegedly thrown into a lake. Our lakes can range from 6 inches of vis to 10 feet of vis. While most have 1-3 feet of visibility the one we were asked to search had 5-6 feet of vis, as long and the divers stayed positive and watched where their fin wash was directed. In addition to having good visibility, the water was also shallow; for the most part less than 6 feet. The lake was approximately 35,000 square feet.
One of our teammates had the idea that we should raise the ladder on our ladder truck so we would have enough elevation to look down into the lake. In the past we have elevated spotters on the pilot house roof on our boat, on top of bridges, and by helicopter but we had never used a resource that is always immediately available to us, the ladder truck. I don't know why we have not done it previously so I figured what the heck, we would give it a try.
The ladder was elevated over the lake and a spotter climbed out to the tip and reported "nothing showing." I initially suspected it was because the water was deep or the vis was poor. The spotter on the ladder then advised that he could see beer cans, beer bottles and various trash items on the lake bottom but no evidence ... nothing.
Because we were already geared up to dive we shifted to a training mode and the divers confirmed there was no evidence in the lake. Putting a spotter on the tip of the ladder took five minutes and told us the same thing the divers took more than an hour to confirm.
I know my friends on this forum are not all blessed have shallow waters and good vis but I throw the idea out to the group. When situations allow and the need arises, consider using the truck company (ladder truck) as a resource. Had evidence been observed in our lake we could have taken photos at elevation and had good documentation on where items were located in proximity to landmarks and other pieces of evidence.
FYI only...
Blades
ONE LAST IDEA WE CONSIDERED ... elevating the line tender to prevent searchlines form hanging up on vegetation underwater.
