Sep 23, 2008 4:18 pm US/Central
Emergency Responders Practice Water Rescue
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
If you were around the lakefront this morning, you may have noticed a lot of commotion around Oak Street Beach. Not to worry. CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports that what appeared to be a major water rescue was actually a practice drill for a serious situation.
The Odyssey specializes in dinner cruises and tours of Lake Michigan, but today the ship was the stage for an elaborate emergency drill.
The scenario - fire crimples the Odyssey's engines, stranding the ship and its 98 passengers and crew on Lake Michigan.
The purpose of the drill was to sharpen the skills of emergency responders.
Firefighter and divers received vital hands-on training which veterans of the department say they just wouldn't get in a classroom or training facility. One big difference - using boats and a helicopter to get to the people in distress.
Today they used mannequins instead of people in the water needing to be rescued. After tending to them, firefighters called in a Seadog boat to transport the others back to shore.
Those in charge of the drill say exercises like todays help rescue workers develop and sharpen problem solving skills.
"Trying to figure out how they are going to get them all off, and they made the right calls, and they called for assistance from other people and got them off," said Chief Michael Fox, Chicago Fire Dept.
Chicagoans who stopped to watch say it gives them a certain peace of mind.
"Hopefully none of us ever need to do this, but in today's world, it's essential that everybody's prepared," said Sue Risher, Gold Coast resident.
"Things go wrong, and we have to have people who are trained, and I respect the fire department a lot, I really do," said Shirley Pierce, Gold Coast resident.
Based on the success of today's drill, Chief Fox says the department would like to hold an even larger drill with similar scenarios sometime next year.
Chief Fox says today's drill cost the city little, if any, money. That's because the training happened during the emergency responders' regular work shifts, and the company that owns the Odyssey and Seadog donated their services.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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