Posts Tagged dive recovery

Dive incident in River Forest, 3/8/15 (more)

Mar 10

Posted by Admin in fire department divers working | Comments off

A 23-year-old Chicago woman, …identified Monday as Christina Hill … was found dead Monday morning after her car crashed into the Des Plaines River near River Forest Sunday evening the Illinois State Police said.

The accident happened near the intersection of Thatcher Avenue and North Avenue in the River Forest area, according to River Forest Fire Chief Jim Eggert. Emergency units on the scene sent divers into the water last night to search for a driver in the car or on the nearby riverbanks but found nothing initially, he said. Because of the lack of light, high water level and fast current, officials decided it was too dangerous to continue and ended the search around 10:30 p.m. last night.

During [a] renewed search Monday morning, the driver was found about 400 yards south of the accident, he said.

During the process of removing the vehicle from the river yesterday, River Forest police used the license plate to identify the driver as Hill. She was last seen alive around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, Eggert said.

thanks Dan

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Illinois State Police Mobile Command Post

Tim Olk photo

Tags: car into the Des Plaines River, Christina Hill, dive recovery, dive team, divers pull woman from the Des Plaines River, fire department divers, fire department divers recover car from Des Plaines River, Northbrook Dive Rescue 10, River Forest Fire Chief Jim Eggert, River Forest Fire Department, Tim Olk, woman dies after car plunges into the Des Plaines River

Dive incident in River Forest, 3/8/15

Mar 9

Posted by Admin in fire department divers working | 13 Comments

This from Steve Redick:

Had a great opportunity to take in a dive incident at North & Thatcher yesterday. A car went over the guardrail and wound up in the middle of the Des Plaines River. The local FDs do not have any kind of dive team available so they utilized Chicago Squad 7 divers from O’Hare. It was interesting to observe the placement of the access ladder and the deployment of the divers. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a good look through the tree branches but you will get the idea. Some unusual rigs were on the scene as well … squad 7 was using an old engine as a spare. I believe that the boat came from the North Riverside FD, and was deployed upstream from my location. The search found no one and as of this writing they have retransmitted a dive box to search further. I am guessing that the owner of the vehicle has come up missing.

Steve Redick photo

Steve Redick photo

Steve Redick photo

Steve Redick photo

Steve Redick photo

fire department divers working in a river

Steve Redick photo

Steve Redick photo

Steve Redick photo

Steve Redick photo

Tags: car into the Des Plaines River, Chicago FD Squad 7, dive recovery, dive team, fire department divers, Northbrook Dive Rescue 10, River Forest Fire Department, Steve Redick

Divers search for dog in Buffalo Grove 1-26-12

Jan 27

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | Comments off

A dog belonging to a Buffalo Grove resident went into a small lake off of Fremont Way in the Crossings subdivision on Saturday and perished. Buffalo Grove firefighters attempted to locate the dog but were unsuccessful. Buffalo Grove divers went back on Thursday with additional divers from Long Grove and Lincolnshire-Riverwoods plus the Lake County Sonar Team. After several hours of searching the area, they were unable to recover the dog and suspended the operation.

Larry Shapiro and Tim Olk went to photograph the recovery efforts and submitted several images.

Divers search for missing dog in Buffalo Grove 1-26-12

The information on the board outlines the specifics of the recovery operation. Larry Shapiro photo

Firefighters carry a boat to the edge of the lake for the dive operation. Larry Shapiro photo

A member of the Lake County Sonar Team drills through the ice to insert the sonar unit. Larry Shapiro photo

An inflatable boat is pulled towards the dive area to be used as a work platform for tenders. Larry Shapiro photo

Another view as the dive tenders make their way across the water. Tim Olk photo

A diver receives assistance in preparing to go into the water. Larry Shapiro photo

A diver is helped out onto the solid ice and walks towards the opening where he will enter the water. Larry Shapiro photo

Members of the sonar team view an image of the lake and search for targets. Larry Shapiro photo

The image from the sonar shows the diver and several items which could be the dog. Larry Shapiro photo

After entering the icy water, a diver waits for the order to begin his search. Larry Shapiro photo

Several members of the sonar team review the images from the sonar device looking for a target. Tim Olk photo

As one diver is in the water, a second stands by on the ice and a third is ready to go from the shoreline in the event of an emergency. Tim Olk photo

After spending the maximum time allowed under water, a diver is assisted out of the water by another diver in a cold weather suit. Larry Shapiro photo

Larry has additional images HERE and Tim has more images HERE.

Tags: Buffalo Grove Fire Department, dive recovery, dive team, dog drowns in Buffalo Grove, fire department divers, Lake County Sonar Team, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods FPD, Long Grove Fire Department, Long Grove Fire Protection District, side scan sonar

Wilmette dive box 8-27-11 update

Aug 28

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News, Reader submission | Comments off

Tim Olk submitted the following images of the recovery efforts at Gillson Park in Wilmette last night.

Wilmette Fire Department MABAS Division 3 divers recover swimmer that drowned 8-27-11

Chicago helicopter 6-8-2 flies overhead in an effort to spot the missing swimmer. Tim Olk photo

Evanston Fire Department divers are met with rough waves as they search for the swimmer. Tim Olk photo

Divers scan the area from the breakwater in addition to others woking in the water. Tim Olk photo

Divers receive instructions from the dive master on the beach regarding the search efforts. Tim Olk photo

An Evanston diver riding a sled pulled by the waverunner is ready to enter the water if they find the lost swimmer. Tim Olk photo

Divers are also stationed on the southern breakwater bounding the area where the swimmer was last seen. Tim Olk photo

The rescue/recovery operation took place over an hour at dusk in Lake Michigan off the beach at Gillson Park near the Wilmette/Evanston border. Tim Olk photo

A Wilmette diver rests after searching in the choppy waters for an hour. Tim Olk photo

The swimmer was found roughly an hour into the rescue operation and was attended to by several paramedics. He was transported from the beach to a waiting Wilmette Fire Department ambulance on a 6x6 ATV and then transported to Evanston Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Tim Olk photo

Tim has a gallery with more images HERE.

Tags: dive recovery, dive rescue, Evanston Fire Department divers, fire department divers, MABAS Division 3 Divers, swimmer drowned in Wilmette, swimmer drowns off Gillson Park, Tim Olk, Wilmette Fire Department