Rescue divers brave ice for annual drill

PARSIPPANY – Several dozen members and supporters of the Parsippany Rescue and Recovery Team — volunteers all — gave up a potentially cozy Sunday morning to brave the elements and practice for disaster.

Flanked by a support fleet of fire trucks, ambulances and specialty vehicles parked at Lake Parsippany's Drewe's Beach, six divers dove into a hole cut into the ice-covered lake, just a few yards beyond a wood-plank dock jutting into the water. The water was only about six feet deep, but full protocols were practiced as the divers descended into the cold, pitch-dark water.

"We have seven departments assisting us," said Parsippany Rescue and Recovery Chief John Tranculov. "After the dive we're going to do some ice-rescue scenarios.

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With on-duty police directing traffic around the scene, volunteers joining the diver's support team included members of the Rockaway Neck First Aid Squad, Parsippany Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Lake Parsippany Volunteer Fire Department District 3. The rescue and recovery unit had its own utility truck and PATRIOT rehabilitation trailer at the scene, and crew supervisors were instructing volunteers on the use of the vehicles and the equipment they carried.

"It's about 32 degrees, so conditions are ideal," said Parsippany Police Chief Paul Philipps, one of the volunteer divers. "But it is very dark, so we don't let them go very far, only a few feet."

Philipps said weather conditions do not allow for a practice dive every year, but when there is enough ice, the drills are essential to prepare for what often becomes dangerous duty on short notice.

"In the middle of the night, when something happens, these are the people who are out there," he said.

"We respond town-wide," Tranculov said. "A lot of people think we're with the fire department, We're separate from the fire department. We basically do water rescue, ice rescue, dives, motor-vehicle extrication, elevator rescues and land searches. We also assist with the fire department, filling their air bottles and securing a house after a fire."

Luis Alvrado was the first diver to go under, coming up and down during a series of drills over about 15 minutes.

"It was dark, but it was pretty good, I feel good," he said after coming back to shore and having his vital signs checked by an EMT.

As one of just a handful of qualified ice-dive teams in Morris County, the Parsippany crew is often called on by other municipalities to help them with underwater searches. Last year, they joined teams from Jefferson, Pequannock and Picatinny Arsenal to conduct an unsuccessful search of the Passaic River in Long Hill for Wall Street Journal reporter David Bird, who is still missing. Last July, they participated in a search at Cook's Pond in Denville that recovered the body of drowning victim and former dive team member Joseph Arcoleo.

"We will go anywhere we are needed," Tranculov said. "Not just in Parsippany but in the neighboring towns and beyond."

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6624; wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com.