VIDEO: Michiana is surrounded by water, so itโs no surprise that it is home to a well-known training program โ the Indiana River Rescue School. โWeโve trained thousands over the years โ from Texas, other parts of the country and other parts of the world,โ says South Bend Fire Dept. Battalion Chief Chris Baker.
The school has been supporting relief efforts in the U.S. since its start in 1983. โWe keep a team thatโs ready 24/7 in the city of South Bend to respond here, but weโre also capable of deploying outside of the city of South Bend,โ Baker says. โWeโve deployed to hurricanes. The last one was last year, Hurricane Helene. We spent a week in North Carolina on those rescue efforts.โ
Itโs on the St. Joe River where training crews come to practice water rescues. It was just weeks ago when South Bend and Goshen firefighters were in Texas to lead a training. โWe were training in June for an event like theyโre seeing right now in Texas,โ Baker says. โThe rescuers are very trained for what theyโre doing. This isnโt just something that happens overnight.โ
While flash flooding may not be as common here, Baker says they always must be prepared. โWeather is changing all the time, so itโs something that we always have to be concerned about,โ he says. Baker says due to the localized nature of the flooding, South Bend will not be sending crews to Texas.
