Heavy rescue swimmers are big believers in system redundancy. It’s the main reason they utilize three independent air supply systems when they dive under the ice during training exercises.

“It’s dangerous work and we want to do it as safely as possible,” said Lt. Dave Barron, a 22-year veteran with the Colorado Springs Fire Department’s Heavy Rescue Technicians team. “Being under the ice is like being in a jar with a lid on top. It’s far more risky than surface rescues.”

Barron, along with other members of the team, ventured to the Gold Camp Reservoir west of Colorado Springs last week to conduct ice-diving exercises. With temperatures in the high 30s and ice only about 2 inches thick in the middle of the reservoir, conditions weren’t exactly ideal for wintertime under-the-ice training. Nevertheless, the team managed to get in some critical work.

“We’ve been out here when it was cold and windy, and when the ice was a lot thicker,” said veteran diver Don Vander Linden, who recently returned to the heavy rescue team after a stint as a driver engineer with the department. “And underwater visibility today is about 20 feet. Sometimes, it’s five.

“But we have to train regularly to keep our skills where they need to be.”

Barron agreed. “It’s high-risk. Conditions are good today compared to what it could be. Lots of times when you’re under the water you can’t see a thing. You have to feel your way around.”

From the shore, divers working in teams of two navigated under the surface to a hole previously cut in the ice about 50 yards away. With an onshore tank pumping air through a hoseline and two air tanks strapped to their backs, divers were well prepared to handle any emergency that might arise. They were also in constant contact with their teammates on the shore via radio.

“We always stay attached to one another,” Vander Linden said.

Barron, the dive lead, said the work typically attracts firefighters who are highly driven to excel in a variety of skill sets.

“They have to have all the skills and training of other firefighters, and then they train to be proficient at ice diving,” he said. “These guys are doing it because they love it.”

Last week’s training session featured several divers who were new to the team and making their first under-ice dives. Accompanying each of them was a veteran diver making sure everything went as smoothly as planned.

“They (new team members) have had a lot of training before now,” said Capt. Bill Hull, program manager. “We don’t want to put anyone in an environment they haven’t been trained for. If there’s an emergency under the ice, your reaction has to be second nature.”

One of the biggest challenges facing divers who venture under the ice, said Vander Linden, is adjusting to carrying all the necessary gear that can weight up to 80 pounds.

“It makes regular diving seem easy,” he said.

The Heavy Rescue Technicians team consists of 24 members working in three teams of eight, Barron said. They train four to five times a year in diving skills. All the department’s firefighters are eligible to try to qualify for the Heavy Rescue Technicians, but actually getting on the team can sometimes take years while prospective members wait for a position to open.

He went on to say that actual under-the-ice rescues are rare, but the team has to train for all eventualities.

Temperatures in the high 30s during last week’s training session underlined an important fact about the weather in the Colorado Springs area. Fluctuating temperatures can make ice unstable and dangerous.

“It’s often not safe,” Hull said. “The ice might be thick, but because of all the sunlight we get here, it fractures. You don’t want to be walking on it.”