Sheffield Lake fire simulates water rescue

Sheffield Lake firefighters carried out a successful training session Tuesday, as firefighters used the city's rescue watercraft and a drone from a neighboring department for two simulated water rescues on Lake Erie. Fire Chief David Novak said that the training exercise was designed to simulate a real water rescue scenario of two kayakers being reported missing in the water. The scenario began with a call at 6:41 p.m. to report a person struggling in Lake Erie behind the Joyce E. Hanks Community Center. Crews arrived about three minutes later and quickly spotted the simulated victim struggling in the water about a quarter mile from shore. The department's two personal watercrafts were deployed by 6:55 p.m. and reached the victim in 2 minutes, placing them on a water sled and getting them safely back to shore by 7:05 p.m. Firefighters questioned the first rescued person and found that a second person was also missing, so they contacted Avon Lake fire and asked for a drone to be deployed to assist in the search. The second simulated victim was found at the bottom of a cliff at Shell Cove Park, and crews were able to use a rope system to bring the victim up from the bottom. "In any real-time event, the SLFD is prepared to respond with the proper equipment and having had excellent training," Novak said in a release. "Scenarios such as this rope-rescue/jet-ski deployment enable us to practice in our own surroundings. I am personally proud of my team, who executed every part of this scenario with great accuracy and skill. The SLFD stays prepared to respond to any and every emergency."