In Hartsdale, drivers trapped in rising waters. In Port Chester, residents stranded in flooded homes. In Mamaroneck, a life-support patient lifted from a second-story window, and more than two dozen people rescued from a submerged gas station. Vehicles swept off Sprain Brook Parkway.
Whether it’s helping neighbors with a problem with their stove, providing aid at a Bear Mountain Bridge emergency or assisting nearby agencies, the Yorktown Heights Volunteer Fire Department handles it all.
The entirely volunteer agency operates Westchester County’s only fire department-based Water Rescue Unit and Dive Team, which dates back to the 1960s, serving as a primary water rescue asset for Westchester and Putnam counties.
“There’s a lot of water out here,” First Assistant Chief Matt Lauria told Yorktown News. “Even our district is roughly 35 percent water between the reservoir, streams and lakes. You always have people out on the water.”
But with few agencies equipped and trained for water rescue, Yorktown Heights has become what Lauria called “a regional asset.”
There used to be more water rescue teams in the area, but over the years, Lauria said, many stepped away because of manpower, training, or equipment costs. Today, several agencies in Westchester and Putnam have some ice rescue training. In recent years, some Westchester agencies have also added flood water rescue training, and the New Rochelle Police Department recently reinstated its dive team. Yorktown’s training, however, is more extensive than that of most other agencies.
One exception is the nearby Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Department, which has had a dive team in place since the late 1960s.
“[We operate] with them in tandem quite a lot,” Lauria said. “We'll go to them to back them up, and they'll come to us to back us up if there is a major water rescue incident.”
Deputy Chief and Fire Commissioner Jason Swart—who has served the district for more than 25 years, including about 20 years with the Dive Team and Water Rescue Unit—told Yorktown News that the program has grown from humble beginnings.
“What once started as an aluminum rowboat and some scuba gear in the boiler room has transformed to a rapid deployment water rescue unit that responds to an increasing number of calls annually,” he said. “The team has evolved to be able to handle all aspects of water rescue, surface and sub-surface.”
The unit is certified through the State of New York, Dive Rescue International, and Emergency Response Diving International, authorizing members for public safety diving, ice diving, crime scene and evidence recovery, swift water rescue, flood water evacuation, and marine operations. Members progress through support roles, including rope tending and equipment assistance, before advancing to operational ranks. Some spend years training before achieving full certification.
The certification allows Yorktown Heights to respond to emergencies ranging from swift water and flood rescues to ice diving and underwater evidence recovery.
New members of the dive team start in support roles, such as handling equipment or managing safety ropes, and can work their way up through years of training to become fully certified rescuers. All department members who complete their probationary period have the opportunity to join the water rescue unit.
The Dive Team and Water Rescue Unit are what Swart called “a secondary component” to the district’s main role, “protecting life and property from fire.”
Members of the specialized team must still maintain all their regularly required training for firematic operations in addition to their responsibilities with the Dive Team and Water Rescue Unit.
The team is designated by the State of New York as a Level 2 SEMO team, meaning it is a regional resource for emergency management, and has been deployed to assist with multiple large-scale flood evacuation operations.
“Our main priority always lies within the Yorktown Heights Fire District,” Swart said. “However, between our role as a Level 2 SEMO team and a regional asset for the area, we operate under the motto: Any Job, Anywhere, Anytime.”
What’s unique about this volunteer agency is that the rescuers may be a neighbor, a fellow parent, or a friend.
Though the work is rewarding, it comes with physical, mental, and emotional challenges. But it’s those very challenges that keep the department’s 60 active members going—about 25 of whom also serve in the water rescue unit, along with 18 junior corps members ages 15 to 17—call after call.
“Our unit has seen so much in the way of loss of life that it’s difficult to highlight positive stories, but there are many. Our hearts rest with those that could not be saved, those are the stories that resonate with us the most, as it’s the driving force to respond to the next call, no matter the circumstances or the conditions,” Swart said.
“We are thankful for the opportunities to have saved people but live in the reality that the tones will drop soon [signaling another call] and we may not be as fortunate.”
Like Swart, Lauria finds the agency’s varied responsibilities part of its allure.
“Every day is different, every call is different,” Lauria said. “You can get into a whole host of things here. Whether it be your fire department-based training...you can get into your technical rescue based training, with ropes, collapses, things like that.”
The district is always on the lookout for volunteers. Though formal recruitment happens biannually, the department welcomes interest year-round, and members like Lauria and Swart are eager to share their experiences.
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