September 01, 2017MAHOMET, Ill. (WCIA) -- A lot of people are jumping in with relief efforts and there's a team right here in Central Illinois that prepares year-round to dive in.
They're called the Swift Water Rescue Team and they're located in Mahomet.
Cornbelt Protective District is MABAS certified.
That means they're able to help out in large scale emergency situations both in and out of the state.
They're the only fire department in the district with that operation.
There are nine people on the team who average hundreds of hours of training to prepare for an emergency.
This wouldn't be the first rodeo for the district if they were called to help.
"In 2005, during Katrina we had four of our members that were activated with the MABAS division to go down with a group of people to help that operation," Cornbelt Fire Chief, John Koller.
Those members were able to come back to share their story and it's helped build confidence among the team.
Now they're facing the possibility of going to Houston to help with Harvey relief efforts.
"Anybody that does call us knows that they can expect that we can come there with a fast response and get everything accomplished and help with anything that we can," says Cornbelt diver and swifter water technician, Chris Cougill.
Not many would think such a team would exist in a town like Mahomet; butb it's a vital part of the fire district.
"It's a very important piece. it's one of those low frequency, high risks type of operations, so it's very very important. we take it very seriously for not only for the folks we're going to help out but for the safety of our personnel as well," states Koller.
While the team wouldn't be familiar with the Houston landscape like they are in Central Illinois, they've trained in North Carolina and other areas to help prepare for natural disaster such as this one.
There's a full list to determine if they're called to the disaster area.
"Every year we have to put a list together for MABAS with staff on the dive team, equipment that we have, all the way down to how many dive suits, how many full faced masks for a dive team, your boat, how many short help you have. There's all type of factors and that determines where you're at and where you fall in that list for your activation for MABAS," states Cougill.
Although they haven't received the call, they're still pumped for the opportunity.
"It's a great feeling to know we can help in any way we can for people who are experiencing the worst days of their lives," says Cougill.
Cornbelt Fire Protective District says if they get activated they're prepared, but if they don't that would be good news. It would mean everything is under control in Houston.
There are nine people on the swift water rescue team.
If the team was activated they would have one day to get ready.
Only a portion of them would go to the rescue site, depending on availability.
The team would also have to take two weeks worth of supplies.
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