Salem County Water Rescue Team

07/30/2024

Last night, during our dive drill, three of our life members (two are still active) attend the drill.

Paul May, Cliff Higbee and Dan Bestwick(l-r) are three of the most important men to have ever served on the dive team. They have over 100 years of combined experience. They developed all of our training standards and policies and truly built the team from nothing.

Last night, they passed on tips, tricks, and pitfalls to look out for to our divers. We are grateful for their willingness to share their experiences from past calls and training events which will help us keep pushing our dive team into the future!

We eagerly look forward to the next opportunity to have them all together again for more training. Thanks guys, we truly appreciate all you do and have done for the team!

07/25/2024

Today, I took my final 200 mile round trip to the New Jersey Task Force 1 headquarters to retire after more then 23 years of service . I have to say what an exciting ride and adventure it's been. When I joined the team back in March of 2001, one of the last questions they asked was, “ Are you available at a moment’s notice to drop everything and go on a deployment for a minimum of 10 days. Of course, I I said, “ Yes.” Who would have known that less than six months later I would be at the World Trade Center for the worst terrorist attack in American history and spend the next 10 days there on rescue recovery missions.

During the course of the last 23 years, I was deployed to more than a dozen disasters. Along the way, I met so many great people and had many opportunities that I never would have had if it were not for this team. There are too many people to mention but, I'd like to mention those who were there in the beginning and some that are still there. Kevin Morrissey, our program manager, who has helped guide me throughout the years, retired Task Force leader, Chief Jim Riley, who's not active but stays in touch with the team. Mike Conlin my first manager, Danny Mitten who at the time Sargent with NJSP convinced the “higher ups” to take a chance on a volunteer fire fighter from South Jersey to be a part of the team. And lastly Lenny Dotson, Lenny and I became very good friends. When I first joined the team there was a lot of training I had to do and 4 hours of driving made for some long days. So on the week long classes, Lenny and his wife invited me into his home and made me feel welcome. She had dinner on the table every night we came home and for that I thank Lenny a million times.

Well as the old saying goes “all good things must come to an end.” Being a part of a USAR team takes dedication and a lot of training hours. I decided I want to spend more time with Susan, Connor, and Lennon so for that reason Susan and I decided it was time for me to retire. I'll always be grateful for the time I spent with this team and I'm sure I'll miss it. I will continue to do my rescue training with swift water, confined space, and tower work which is something I don't think I'll ever get tired of. After two years of discussion I'm building a new garage/mancave which will consume a lot of my time. For now, I am closing my Task Force chapter, ready to begin my next one.

12/06/2023

If you know me, you know I can’t sit still!

I am trying something new! I have been driving tractor trailer for a private contractor for a little over a week now. I guess it was time to test me. My run consisted of going to BelAir,
MD to get a Backhoe and take it to Long Island NY. There I dropped it off. Let there and made 3 more stops to pick up the rest of the equipment to deliver back to Bel Air for the auction. I started Monday morning and finished up Tuesday evening. The trip was a success.

10/02/2023

Get a puppy it will be Fun they told us! This Pup is non stop out of control

04/11/2023

04/11/2023

The SC Water Rescue team was dispatched on Easter morning for a motor vehicle accident where the auto launched into the water and people inside. Upon arrival, victim was removed and we assisted in retrieving the vehicle.

Great job by all who helped particularly Centerton Fire Company 23.

https://www.facebook.com/100068503539595/posts/539886491638131/?mibextid=SDPelY

12/21/2022

Please pay attention to the weather in the next few days! Please be safe!

09/11/2022

05/27/2022

At approximately 13:43 hours, the Salem County Water Rescue Team along with Carneys Point Fire Department, Penns Grove Fire Department, Pennsville Fire Department, Downe Twp Fire Department, Penns Grove Ambulance Squad, Inspira Paramedics, and mutual aid Fire companies from New Castle County Delaware responded to the area of Borden Beach, just off of Delaware Avenue in Carneys Point Twp for a reported Drowning. Police Officers arrived on scene first and obtained a last seen location of the victim. Police officers spoke to two fisherman who stated they observed a male subject floating on a log in the Delaware River. They advised Police that they last seen the subject slip off of the log and go under water. The two fisherman confirmed where they last seen the victim go under water. 27-10 arrived on scene and assumed command. A swimmer was placed in the water and set a last seen buoy where the subject was last seen above water. Other Salem County Water Rescue personnel arrived on scene and a grid search of the river was underway. 27-10 handled all hands on operations while 27-10D monitored all radio traffic between Salem County and New Castle County along with assisting with command. Downe Twp Divers quickly arrived on scene and proceeded to the last seen buoy. Within 11 minutes, Downe Twp Divers with the assistance of the Salem County Water Rescue Team, located the victim who was then transported by New Castle County Marine Units to Christiana Hospital. As of now, there are no updates on the condition of the victim. No other injuries were reported on scene.

04/18/2022

Please be aware of your surroundings if you are going to be out tonight as winds will be heavy along with flooding in areas.

01/28/2022

Please use extreme caution if and when traveling Friday and Saturday. If possible stay off of the roadways and be aware of minor flooding.

10/24/2021

I would like to congratulate the 2 newest members who completed water rescue operations class today. Grant Ashcraft, Kenny Nichols, also Matt Eller, and Jonny Star who rectified. We also had other Salem County members and members from Downe Twp. Dive team who also participated in the training. A special Thank You to Don Peyre-Ferry one of our support personnel and driver. As you know we all want to be in the water and doing the fun stuff but it’s the support people behind the scenes that we forget about. Without them we wouldn’t be able to perform. Don brought the truck, handed out all the gear, organized everything, did paperwork and also participated in some of the drills. We are grateful to have people like Don and Rick Weisgerber that always show up to support our team. All and all it was a Beautiful day, and I want to thank everyone for giving up time on a Sunday to get this training completed. Take care and I will see you soon.