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Alex Cabrero ReportingA big commotion had a bunch of people in Murray worried. But it was all practice. The scenario still got your heart pumping.
Imagine three people in a canoe, falling into the cold water. One of them was nowhere to be found.
It was an exercise involving the Murray fire department and the Salt Lake County search and rescue team.
This is how they get better, so when the real thing happens, they'll know what to do and how to work together. Even though it was just practice, when that call came in, it felt pretty real.
"There was a patient drowning. Disconnect line. No further info."
The second the call came in, and rescuers got busy fast. Their mission was to save three people who were in a canoe when it overturned.
"We've got a submerged victim out here."
"If we see someone floating around, that's who we go right after first."
Thankfully though, as real as this all looks, it's just practice, a way for search and rescue teams to learn to work with each better.
Dan Smith/ Salt Lake County Search and Rescue: "Just a very good proving ground for what will happen and what can happen."
Dave Florin/ Murray Fire Dept.: "For us, it's more of an adrenaline, especially when we're doing something like this. It doesn't matter how cold it is, we're going to go in."
This training comes at a great time. Spring is coming quickly, and that means more people will be taking boats into the water. In fact, before this week's snow, some had already been in the water.
Jesse Valenzuela/ Murray Fire Dept.: "Everybody is looking at the sunshine. It's getting warm. People are in t-shirts again. They're out. Well, the water is still very frigid. Just because it doesn't have ice doesn't mean it's not very cold."
And unfortunately, accidents happen. When they do, that's where these teams and this training come in.
Joe Treadwell: "Extremely important. We fight how we train."
