Rock Island State Park partnering with multiple agencies to host swiftwater rescue training sessions to prepare emergency responders for dangerous water conditions.
Park Manager Jake Viamonte said the park manages the Caney Fork River Gorge, an area where the confluence of three rivers creates turbulent water conditions ideal for rescue simulations. Viamonte said the presence of the Great Falls Dam allows for a relatively controlled flow of water that mimics real-world emergency scenarios without the extreme risks of an unmanaged river.
“It’s important to me that people have the training they need so that when an event occurs, because it’s generally going to be, you know, when, not if they’re prepared to deal with it,” Vaimonte said. “And number two, because it gives us, you know, our team here, consistent exposure to these operations so that we are ready. Because even though I describe this area as being very controlled, it’s still dynamic.”
Viamonte said the training partnerships include an agreement that visiting teams will assist park staff if a real emergency occurs during their exercises. Viamonte said these collaborations ensure that responders have the necessary skills before a life-threatening event happens.
“A relatively controlled amount of flow is fairly consistently coming through that area, a lot of teams target our park as a place to come and train for swift water rescue because it’s not quite as dangerous as the, you know, a big time emergency event, but it offers very similar conditions that teams can use to train,” Viamonte said.
Viamonte said the Tennessee Valley Authority provides data and models to help predict water movement from the reservoir into the training area. Viamonte said while the environment cannot be perfectly controlled, the predictability of the dam’s output creates a safer staging ground for responders.
“Of course, the nature of the training is such that we’re in an environment that you can’t perfectly control or predict, but it’s hopefully predictable enough that we can put these people in here, give them a chance to train and and then when they get out into a situation that has no controls, no safety measures in place, then they’ll be that much more prepared when that happens,” Viamonte said.
Viamonte said the program has a significant impact on local rescue squads from surrounding counties who often use the park as their primary training site. Viamonte said having local responders train at Rock Island State Park gives them a “home turf” advantage if they are called to a real rescue at the park.
“We’re motivated to to support those operations and to learn everything that we can and be as prepared as we can be because we want to make sure that we can do everything we can to keep people safe when they come here,” Viamonte said. “I think that everybody who visits the park and us share something in common, that we love these natural areas and we just want to make sure that people can come here, enjoy the park, visit these cool wild places and be as safe as possible when they do.”
Viamonte said park visitors should perform routine safety checks, including wearing proper footwear and notifying others of their plans, before entering the gorge.