Darlington County firefighters and emergency workers were training in North Carolina when they found themselves in a real rescue.
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Darlington County Fire District and Emergency Services employees were able to assist with rescuing a distressed diver while participating in a diver-certification training.
Eight members of the Darlington County Fire District and Emergency Services Department attended a training session Saturday at Fantasy Lake SCUBA Park in Wake Forest, N.C. Lt. Nick Newton of the Darlington County Fire Department was certifying five to be rescue divers. Two others attended as aides to the instructor.
After they had completed the first day of training, they were at the campsite considering their plans for the evening. At the same time, two nearby recreational divers, a father and son, saw a distressed diver in the lake. The son began to assist the diver and the father went to the Darlington County team for help.
All Darlington County members immediately went to assist with the rescue of the diver.
The diver was showing signs of being in distress. The team performed a medical assessment and then began to provide first aid until the arrival of local EMS.
Once out of the water, the diver was still combative, but they were able to get him alert and oriented prior to the arrival of the ambulance.
The diver appears to have been struggling because of a preexisting medical condition and is expected to not have any further complications.
Darlington County Fire Chief Ricky Flowers and Emergency Services Director Kenny Bowen said they were proud of the firefighters.
“It was favorable to have these members in the right place at the right time. I am proud of how they continue to train. Anyone in Darlington County should feel fortunate to know we have a group this capable to respond to any emergency.” said Flowers. “We have a wonderful group of people in Darlington County. They put in a lot of extra effort to be ready to answer calls for help. We are proud of their willingness to help others in our communities.” said Bowen.
Darlington County rescuers were William “Mikey” Burdick (Fire), David Dew (Fire), Heather Lewis (Fire), Justin “Pookie” Mays (Fire/EMS), Dustin Munn (Fire/EMS), Nick Newton (Fire), Parker Payne (Fire), Chris Teal (Fire).
