IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WZMQ) – Over the weekend, Dickinson County witnessed a heartwarming show of community spirit as residents gathered to support the fundraising efforts of the county’s dive rescue team, a volunteer-based unit within the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department. The event, organized by the Borderhounds Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club, featured live music from local bands Spun, Seth Brown Duo, and Oz, along with various food trucks, games, and activities for children.
Children had the unique opportunity to get an up-close look at some of the new dive equipment, which had been recently acquired thanks to a generous $16,000 donation from the Dickinson 100+ Women Who Care organization. This new equipment arrived just in time to be displayed at the event.
Tony Guiliani, a rescue diver for Dickinson County, expressed his vision for the team: “Me personally, I would like to see us at 15 to 20 [divers]. It takes 5 people to put one diver in the water, so considering we’re a volunteer dive team, Connor is the only full-time sheriff’s deputy. One of us volunteers otherwise, so you know, depending on jobs and stuff like that, it depends on who can make it and be there to help support it.”
He explained the recruitment process, highlighting the need for experienced divers: “We’re looking for people who are already PADI certified to be able to come join. We put them through another training course, which is Dive Rescue International. Once you put in an application, we’re going to do an interview process, talk to everybody, make sure that they’re able to keep calm and do everything. That’s why we would need other people, because we do everything from evidence recovery to body recovery. Body recovery would need to be able to stay calm underwater and be able to do all that stuff. Some people aren’t comfortable doing that, so we need all different types and trades of qualities of people. And being able to have flexible schedules.”
For those with the right qualifications, maintenance training is approximately once a month in the summer months, and at least 1 pool dive during the winter. Guiliani stressed the importance of regular training: “We put together dive trainings, and we try to get together at least a minimum of once a month for summer when there’s no ice and water. We try to get out at least once a month and keep everybody in practice. And then in January, we try to do at least one pool dive to make sure all the divers are keeping their skills up and not getting rusty.”
For those interested in becoming certified divers, Guiliani recommended local options: “So any PADI dive shop should be able to get you certified. I promote M&M Diving out of Menominee. There is a company that comes up here to the YMCA every so often from Green Bay, but I’m partial to M&M because that’s where I’ve gotten my dive certification, and I know the gentleman and I do a lot of recreational diving with him also.”
The next Dive Rescue International training course was scheduled for August in Marquette, as Guiliani noted: “It’ll be in August up in Marquette, so it’s a three-day course up in Marquette.”
Guiliani emphasized the volunteer nature of the team: “We stressed that we’re a volunteer dive team. We are associated with the sheriff’s department, and that just helps cover our liability insurance and all that stuff. We obviously have access to the sheriff’s boat to save us costs. But ultimately we’re volunteers. We’re just doing these fundraisers and stuff like this to be able to buy this new equipment and everything to be able to get ourselves off and running. Instead of using our own personal gear, we’re using all our own personal gear at this point.”
For those wishing to support the dive team, Guiliani provided contact information: “If they want to support either monetarily, or if they have something the dive team can use, they could get a hold of Lieutenant Jason Conery Monday-Friday at the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department. Just visit with him, whether they have a piece of equipment or whatever they want to try donating to us or would like to donate money. The sheriff’s department in Dickinson County deals with that.”
