Help Us Save Lives On & Under the Water – Support the Portage County Water Rescue Team

The Portage County Water Rescue Team was founded in 2001 after the need arose in our County to have specially trained people to safely perform water rescues. The initial team started off with 5 Portage County Fire departments creating a group of 30 individuals trained in flooding, swiftwater, surface ice rescue, rescue diving as well as salvage & recovery of vehicles or boats that are creating an immediate environmental or public hazard.

In 2026 our team will be 25 years old and now consists of 90 members from 19 public safety departments in and adjoining Portage County.

• Divers: for all under the water or under the ice operations
• Shore Support: These members are the soul of our team, doing everything above the water from interviewing witnesses, getting divers dressed, getting equipment set up, communicating with the divers while they are under the water and making sure that the divers are searching in the correct location.
• Family Liaison: These very special members will stay with the family and friends of the victims that we are there to help and provide them with whatever they may need during the operation.
• Drone Pilots: Our team has 7 certified drone pilots to operate our rescue drone, our drone has many capabilities and can light up large areas from overhead when it is dark, it can carry life jackets to victims trapped in flooded waters and has a thermal camera that can see the heat of a body through the dark.

Due to having a small budget that is mostly spent on training, we heavily rely on fundraising to be able to purchase larger items for the team, such as the drone this year. We are currently looking for funding to help us purchase 3 important pieces of equipment to help our team operate safer and more efficiently.

1. First and most important is a large 18' inflatable boat, our current inflatables are 14' and this larger boat would give us safer capabilities and the ability to rescue more people in flood water situations. In 2024 145 people drowned in flooding in the US. The summer of 2025 has shown us that flooding can happen anywhere and that number will be much higher, we need to be prepared to handle these incidents if they occur in our region. The cost of this boat with trailer and motor is approximately $41,000.
2. Underwater drone: This Underwater Remote Vehicle works off a tether and operator on the shore that directs it via remote control. The URV has a video camera, lights, sonar and a claw that when an object is located, it can attach itself to the object so that a diver can easily find it. In situations where an individual may have fallen through the ice, the URV can be dropped in the hole and start searching for the victim while the divers are getting ready, if it finds them, the claw is strong enough to bring them back to the surface, decreasing recovery time and increasing their chances of survival. These URVs range in cost from $20,000. to $40,000.
3. Surface supplied air: A surface supplied air unit gives the diver more opportunity to work under the water for longer periods of time without the need to continually monitor the air that is in the single scuba tank on their backs. In 2024 when the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed in Baltimore, those rescue divers were able to operate longer and recover people quicker because they were not restricted on air supply, they did not have to continuously check their air level or come to the surface to exchange scuba bottles. In a surface supplied system, all of the diver's breathing air is supplied and maintained by this system and operator at the surface. This system will cost around $10,000.

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We thank you for taking the time to learn about our team and for your consideration of support.