By Brian Livingston / staff writer
Lucky for a horse there were dozens of water rescue trainees nearby Sunday at Bonita Lakes Recreation Park in Meridian.
A man riding his horse on one of the many trails at the park stopped in the upper lake to give his steed a drink of water. The horse wandered too far out into the lake and became stuck in the mud. When men and women taking part in a water rescue training session responded by boat to the calls for help, they found the man trying to hold the floundering horse's head above the water.
The trainees in the boat, mostly Meridian emergency personnel, raced back to their staging area, retrieved towing gear and returned in time to pull the horse safely from the water.
"Was that in the course requirements?" said one of the trainees afterward.
No it wasn't. But in terms of managing and successfully executing a water rescue it was priceless.
The three-day sessions take about 70 trainees and teach them about moving water rescue and flood water procedures. A mandate handed down by the Department of Homeland Security after Hurricane Katrina, stated emergency personnel would be required to learn the basics of water rescues in the event another such disaster strikes again.
"Katrina is still teaching us lessons," said Dean Paderich, CEO of Spec Rescue International of Virginia Beach, Va. "This is operational level boat safety and water rescue we are teaching here. When these men and women complete this course they will be certified under the National Association Fire Protection Agency."
Paderich, a former US Marine swimmer, helps in the instruction of the course that was hosted by the Meridian Public Safety Training Facility. It is his job to ensure these trainees know the ins and outs of water safety and rescue — no matter the circumstances.
"It could be an overturned boat or a home that is flooded up to the rafters," said Paderich. "This is training many of these people have never had and it is opening their eyes to what water can do, both to them and the victims."
The trainees were made up of men and women from fire departments, task forces and dive teams from across the state. Some local emergency personnel such as firemen and policemen were also taking the time to become certified.
The training was funded through the Department of Homeland Security in Jackson.
