Cowlitz County Dive Rescue

What we do.

Our team is made up of all volunteers. We respond through the Cowlitz County Sheriff's office. We are tasked to any water-related incident. Sometimes that would be a car reported to be in the water, and other times it is a swimmer that has been reported missing. We respond to reports of boats in trouble and to flood incidents as well as swift water rescues. Other times we are asked to dive for evidence that is related to criminal activity. Our team holds monthly meetings and monthly trainings. As you can see, we respond to a wide variety of incidents, so we provide a broad training base. Generally we average 20-30 missions per year.
We work closely with the Cowlitz County Search and Rescue Team, who provide surface support and boat operators when we do not have the manpower for these operations ourselves.

What does it take to become a member?

We work closely with the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office. They have applications there. Each team member must first pass the background investigation. We do not require our members to be divers. We need members for surface support even on those missions that require us to dive. We need people who can respond at anytime, day or night. The more you are available the better. We need people who know how to work as a team. If you are thinking about joining as a diver, remember they call us for any of the water-related incidents. The water is typically black with lots of debris. It is not recreational diving. We do provide the training, but if people are timid or claustrophobic, they normally have a hard time diving in black water. We normally find victims by feel, not by sight.

Community Support

We are all volunteers. We do not get paid for anything. We survive by getting donations from the community. Each team member buys their own equipment and pays for their own gas. The team does have acess to a realitively new john boat. We are currently trying to raise funds for emergency medical equipment to have on scene in case one of the divers is injured. The team’s funds come from small fundraisers and donations.

If you would like to donate, please send a check to the:
Cowlitz County Dive Rescue Team
%Department of Emergency Management
312 SW 1st Street
Kelso, WA 98632

Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Try these other links

Cowlitz County Search and Rescue
Dive Rescue International
Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office

Download AOL Instant Messenger