Watch Now: Fremont Firefighter Training with AquaEye | Local News

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Darek Schuller appreciates the new equipment that can help Fremont firefighters be more effective in underwater search efforts.

Schuller is on the Fremont Fire Department’s C-Team and is secretary of the Dodge County Water Rescue Team.

About a year ago, Schuller saw a post on social media about AquaEye, an underwater scanner with cutting-edge technology that helps divers locate a body underwater.

Schuller researched the device and submitted a quarterly grant application to the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Last fall, the FACF provided a $5,000 grant to purchase the device, and firefighters trained with it. The device can not only help personnel find a victim sooner, but can also help divers who face risks associated with a rescue or recovery.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, the portable device is put under water. It sends a sonar ping 165ft from shore into the water and is programmed to identify the density of a human body – differentiating it from other objects.

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“You can scan two acres in five minutes. It covers a lot of ground,” Schuller said.






Members of the Fremont Fire Department are supporting equipment purchased with a $5,000 grant from the Fremont Area Community Foundation. From left to right: Darek Schuller, Riley McCoy, Tyler Thomas, Zach Toole, Mike Schuler, Rick Schutt and James Bazer.


TAMMY REAL-MCKEIGHAN; Fremont Tribune


The results appear on a screen in another part of the unit.

“It’s programmed to give us the best chance of getting a body with an ‘X’ on the screen. Other things it can read will give an ‘O’, which is less likely,” a- he declared.

Less likely items might include a barrel or a log on the bottom of a lake.

Schuller said a non-diver can use the device to scan the water while two divers get dressed in their wetsuits and put on their gear, saving time.

The device also saves time by limiting the scope of the search to a specific location and can help in less than ideal situations such as searching for a body at night.







AquaEye

The AquaEye equipment was purchased with a $5,000 grant from the Fremont Area Community Foundation.


TAMMY REAL-MCKEIGHAN; Fremont Tribune


“What we’ve found particularly impressive about the technology is the security it provides the team,” said FACF executive director Melissa Diers.

Prior to the AquaEye, two divers would go into the water to search the area where the victim was last seen.

The AquaEye can shorten the time divers spend in the water, where they face possible equipment malfunction and risk becoming entangled in fishing line or other objects in the water.

And while the device is being used to recover a body, it could potentially be part of a rescue.

“There have been scenarios with cold water drownings where they (people) have been successfully lifted and resuscitated after being underwater for quite a significant amount of time,” Lt. Rick Schutt said.

Firefighters received the equipment in September 2021 and trained with it at the Fremont Lakes Recreation Area.

“We would send our own diver into the water and literally run a search and see if it (the device) would pick it up,” Schuller said.

Firefighters also practiced scanning at the Dillon Family Aquatic Center at the Fremont Family YMCA.

Schuller said six firefighters are trained at this point with plans to train more. There are 10 members of the dive team.

With summer approaching, this is a great piece of gear to have.

“Having a well-equipped firefighting unit is imperative,” Diers said. “We are a community surrounded by bodies of water and it is important that we as a community are prepared for emergencies.”

Diers said the foundation thinks the underwater scanning device is a smart addition to the equipment the fire department already has.

“We were thrilled to be able to help bring it to the department,” she said.

The firefighters also appreciate the Police and Fire Insurance Agency, which donated towards the purchase of underwater communications equipment.

This equipment, purchased two years ago, cost $2,500.

“We can be on shore and connected — almost like we’re talking on the phone — to the diver underwater,” Schuller said.

Schutt said a rope attached to the diver had a communication line. The diver wears earpieces/helmets over their mask and can talk to the firefighter on shore.

Shore personnel can help direct the diver.

“Before that, we just communicated with different tug-of-wars,” Schutt said.

This type of communication can be prone to miscommunication.

“You definitely wanted to have a chat with your rope access technician and the diver before they left to make sure everyone was on the same page – two tugs means this and three tugs means that,” Schutt said.

Victory Marine donates an engine for the fire department’s flat bottom boat each year. Schuller said they were looking to get a boat that would perform better in flood and lake water.

Schuller said they are looking into what types of boats rescue personnel use in other states.

“We don’t know what we want to do yet, but we will get there,” Schuller said. “Donations are always accepted for sure, as there are always repairs, courses to attend, equipment upgrades, recertifications.”

Diers noted that taxpayers’ money does not cover all needs.

So donations and an FACF grant can help not only the dive team members, but the community they serve.

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