Southern WI Rescue/Recovery

[AmyinWV]

Hello All,

My husband and I plan to move to the southern Wisconsin area in the near future (somewhere north of Madison and west of Fond Du Lac). I currently work as an EMT-B (plan to start my EMT-P classes this fall, depending on if they have one), fire fighter too.

We also handle (which I am also certified/experianced) water Rescue/Recovery, my true passion. I am also working on my dive master. And I am well aware that people (atleast for us) never seem to drown in clear water (except for the one time when our buddy, Eric, had to recover his friend's uncle, but that's another story) . Our last recovery was absolutely zero viz. I actually found it more comforting to just close my eyes. My greatest fear is that I will have to give it all up when we move.

Is there anyone in this forum that can give me a little heads up on how things are handled in the area? I was afraid the sherriff dept. handles all the recovery. Are the fire departments paid? volunteer? Where are the ambulance services located?

I have located a couple dive clubs in the area, an especially active one in Madison. That is really encouraging. They look like a fun bunch.

I would appreciate any assistance.

Amy

 

[JacobsonC2]

Hello All,

My husband and I plan to move to the southern Wisconsin area in the near future (somewhere north of Madison and west of Fond Du Lac). I currently work as an EMT-B (plan to start my EMT-P classes this fall, depending on if they have one), fire fighter too.

We also handle (which I am also certified/experianced) water Rescue/Recovery, my true passion. I am also working on my dive master. And I am well aware that people (atleast for us) never seem to drown in clear water (except for the one time when our buddy, Eric, had to recover his friend's uncle, but that's another story) . Our last recovery was absolutely zero viz. I actually found it more comforting to just close my eyes. My greatest fear is that I will have to give it all up when we move.

Is there anyone in this forum that can give me a little heads up on how things are handled in the area? I was afraid the sherriff dept. handles all the recovery. Are the fire departments paid? volunteer? Where are the ambulance services located?

I have located a couple dive clubs in the area, an especially active one in Madison. That is really encouraging. They look like a fun bunch.

I would appreciate any assistance.

Amy

hey amy,

i am a EMT-B and work on the north side of milwaukee. dive recovery/rescue is something i always was intrested in, but have never gotten the chance to get into. this is what i know.

most of that kind of diving on the big pond is done by the sheiffs department, coast gaurd, and milwaukee (or other paid depts) fire department. i have dove once with the sheriffs dept and have seen the milwaukee fire dept many times out on the big pond, ie. lake michigan. these are all paid. the inland lakes are mostly volunteer services (i think this would be the case were you are planning on going with the exception of oshkosh, which i think the paid fire dept does the diveing) that are just starting up and in the very early stages. i know the volunteer dept in my area has only 3 divers that are certified to dive below 60ft and that have completed some sort of dive rescue course. they were all so the ones that pulled a body out of lake geneva from about 112'. you might have better luck looking for a volunteer service to dive with, unless you are a paid firefighter.

it sounds that you have considerable more experience than most of the volunteer services and should have a problem getting on one of them. shot me a e-mail if you want....
jacobsonc2@aol.com

 

[JacobsonC2]

some of the private ambulance services are..... these are just off the top of my head.

medacare, medix, bell, paratech, ohana, curtis, and orange cross. these are all in south eastern wisconsin. most offer als, bls, and RN transports. ohana (a new service) and orange cross are the only ones that are als or RN only. bell is the largest followed by paratech. i can tell you more about them but i would prefer to do it over e-mail and not on a board.

in the state of wisconsin there are....
Numbers of EMS services. Fire department (paid), 54; fire department (volunteer), 105; volunteer squads, 189; private ambulance services, 69; hospital-based, 18; air ambulance, 9; first responder, 9,600

 

[AmyinWV]

Thanks for providing so much info...it's been really helpful. I finally recieved a return phone call from the lady at the state EMS office. She is emailing me the forms to apply for a transfer of my cert. card. Althought she informed me that I will be needing the "weapons of mass destruction" class. We have one here, but she said I need the one in WI.

Anyway, it seems I will probably end up with one of the companies out of a more rural area. I was hoping that if we can find a house that suits on a lake, that there is a good rescue dept. in the area.

I will email you once I have a bit more time to look into the housing more.

P.S. Nice "Big Eyes", that is my next equiptment upgrade. My mask leaks and makes me crazy! I tried a "big eyes" on at a shop last year and really liked it, fit my face well. Huge field of vision.

 

[sauga]

What town are you moving to? Aside from the major cities, most things are volunteer up here. The WMD class isn't anything special, mostly awareness issues, 4 hours if I remember right. Volunteer Fire departments may or may not be easy to get on depending on the location. If you are in town during the day and it's a small town, you have a good chance. As far as the EMT thing, here in Wisc. we recognize First Responders, EMT-B, EMT-IV Tech, EMT-I, and of course Paramedic, National Registry, of course. The basic firefighter course is 60 hours for part 1 & 2, part 3 is 36 hours and that allows you to take the hands on test for firefighter I. Depending on the department though, part 1 and 2 are the minimum requirements. Now diving, that depends on the county you are in. Mine doesn't even have one (but a couple of us are working on it...). Good luck on your move and a whole-hearted cheesehead welcome!

John

 

[JacobsonC2]

Thanks for providing so much info...it's been really helpful. I finally recieved a return phone call from the lady at the state EMS office. She is emailing me the forms to apply for a transfer of my cert. card. Althought she informed me that I will be needing the "weapons of mass destruction" class. We have one here, but she said I need the one in WI.

Anyway, it seems I will probably end up with one of the companies out of a more rural area. I was hoping that if we can find a house that suits on a lake, that there is a good rescue dept. in the area.

I will email you once I have a bit more time to look into the housing more.

P.S. Nice "Big Eyes", that is my next equiptment upgrade. My mask leaks and makes me crazy! I tried a "big eyes" on at a shop last year and really liked it, fit my face well. Huge field of vision.

i took my weapons of mass destruction this last winter well i was doing my refreasher. 4 hourse, fun stuff... thats about all i can say about it.