Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Fire Water Rescue topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Grand Rapids Fire Department outlines river and water-rescue capabilities, flags Whitewater project planning needs
Summary
Fire Department presented its water-rescue assets and training, reporting 30 public-safety-certified divers, multiple specialized boats, and 41 water-rescue responses in the last year; officials urged planning design features for the Whitewater project to support rescue operations.
The Grand Rapids Fire Department told the committee it has expanded its water-rescue capabilities and is coordinating with regional partners as the city plans river-activation projects that will increase recreational use of the river.
An Assistant Fire Chief reported the department now has 30 public-safety-certified divers and by contract 36 water-rescue team members, three rescue boats and one rescue airboat, and a dedicated water rescue station on Bridge Street. He said the department conducted 41 water-rescue responses between January and December 2024 and described recent rescues in ice and low-visibility conditions.
“As of last week or the week before, we now have 30 public safety certified divers operating in the Grand Rapids Fire Department,” the Assistant Fire Chief said. He outlined training curricula for swift-water, technician-level, ice rescue and open-water dive and public-safety dive training that enables grid searches and low-visibility recovery.
The department described specialized apparatus, including a dive-rescue truck based at Bridge Street, a rigid-hull inflatable and a shallow-draft “banana boat” used at Sixth Street Dam, and an airboat stationed at Monroe that the department said has been valuable in ice rescues and other incidents. The assistant chief said the airboat allowed crews to extract a person from icy water more quickly than a full haul evolution.
Committee members asked about the Whitewater project and possible design changes that could affect rescue operations. The Assistant Fire Chief urged planners to consider removing low-head dams that are a primary hazards and recommended incorporating fixed anchor points for rope-rescue systems and clearer signage to speed response and safe access points along the river.
Officials said the department maintains two divers on duty 24/7 and noted that, because county search-and-recovery resources can take longer to mobilize, an in-city water-rescue capability significantly improves the chance of timely rescues. The department also said it is evaluating broader credentials, including a potential state-level validation (MABAS) that would allow the team to be requested statewide for large responses.
No formal policy changes were adopted during the presentation. Staff said they will continue technical training, evaluate equipment needs for changing river conditions and coordinate with Whitewater project partners and regional agencies to plan rescue access and staging.
