Submersed in leagues of their own
Brick's dive team stays busy in and out of its element
BY DANIELLE MEDINA
Correspondent

CHRIS KELLY staff Joe Licandro, a diver with the township's Underwater Recovery Team, checks his equipment before a dive drill at the Brick Reservoir July 31.

For some local firefighters, the lengths - and depths - they'll go to keep Brick residents safe knows no limits.

The Brick Township Underwater Recovery Team is a specialized unit within the fire department that responds to incidents that occur on the many bodies of water in and around the township.

Commonly known as the dive team, the 28-member volunteer unit consists of 12 divers and 16 "tenders" - dive managers who stay on land - who spend an additional 100 hours of dive training in addition to firefighter training for certification.

The dive team also regularly conducts practices drills in the Atlantic Ocean, Barnegat Bay, Metedeconk and Manasquan rivers, Kettle Creek, Forge Pond, Lake Riviera and most recently, the Brick Reservoir.

"We dive in all bodies of water, so we know what the makeup is, the visibility, the hazards, the ingress and egress, and what the bottom is like," said dive captain Jim Hajeski, "so in the event of a search, recovery or rescue, we are ready."

PHOTOSBY CHRIS KELLY staff Tom Fried, of Toms River, a diver with Brick's Underwater Recovery Team was one of 12 divers getting familiar with the Brick Reservoir July 31.

In a township that has 52 miles of waterfront property, more than any other municipality in the state, the dive team is frequently called upon to respond to boating accidents, swimmers and boaters in distress, and vehicles in the water.

Two weeks ago, the dive team rescued two township men near Brick Beach I when the raft they were floating on was pulled a mile and a half offshore as a fast-moving thunderstorm rolled across town.

The dive team also assists the police department with the recovery of crime scene evidence and weapons.

The July 31 dive at the Brick Reservoir was the team's second dive there since the reservoir was filled two years ago.

Fran Devaney reviews how to record safety information with dive tenders David Cantillo and Philip VasTano during a dive practice drill July 31.

Divers also use the drill to collect water and algae samples and shoot underwater video of the reservoir for the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (BTMUA).

"The reservoir has been filled for two years now, so it'll be interesting to see what's going on down there," said David Harpell, a BTMUA health and safety supervisor.

Two divers on the reservoir's south end shot video of the reservoir's intake channel, which filters water to the BTMUA for cleaning.

With the reservoir nearly filled to its 1 billion-gallon capacity, the divers were in about 46 feet of water in the south end and about 28 feet of water on the reservoir's north side.

"Most of the water we dive in is about 20 feet or less, so this is a nice change for us," Hajeski said.

At the north end of the reservoir, four divers and their tenders were drilled in search patterns.

"The tender's job is to make sure that the diver does a complete search," Hajeski said.

Although tenders stay on land, they play a crucial role in each dive. Each diver is attached to a line that is held by a tender. Using a series of line signals, the tender directs the diver through practice patterns. Tenders also keep track of divers' submersion time and their depths to determine how much surface time they need before their next dive.

All of the divers were impressed by the reservoir's water clarity.

"Compared to what we usually dive in, this water is pretty clear," said diver Kevin Batzel. "It's one step above a swimming pool."

While this practice dive took place during the summer, Hajeski said the dive team also conducts winter practice drills, where mock victims who have "fallen" through the ice are rescued from Brick's frozen lakes.

Although the dive team consists of firefighters from Fire District No. 1, the unit serves the entire township and is often called upon to provide assistance in mutual aid situations.