Swift-Water Training

The County of Henrico, Virginia hosted an ERDI Non-Diving Swift Water Instructor Course May 18th through the 22nd bringing out Instructor Trainer Eric Brooks of ProTech Scuba LLC to run the course. During this 40-hour course, five members of the Chesterfield Fire District, five members of the Richmond Fire District, and five members of the County of Henrico Fire District participated in the instructor level activities. In the first three days of the course, candidates honed their academic presentation skills, before completing their swimming requirements and dry-land training on day four. The final day was spent at “Pipeline,” a swift-water training site located in the heart of Richmond, VA. During this final day of training the instructor candidates demonstrated their superior watermanship and technical level skills. All of the candidates did a fantastic job and as new instructors are a welcome addition to the ERDI family. Gentlemen, good luck with your first swift water course!

Picture 1, Back row from left to right: Pierce Brinkley, Gene Ledlie, Colin McCaffrey, Mike Possanza, Bruce Ivey, DJ Jennings, Mike Burnett, and Sean Labadie. Front row from left to right: Devin Creamer, Brian Van Drew, Riley Gorman, Kevin Knight, Cpt. Brian Turnage, Mike Goodman, and Tyler Lowery.

Picture 2, Instructor candidates gear up in the parking lot just east of the Pipeline training site.

Eric Brooks is a 16-year member of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Posse, and owner of ProTech Scuba LLC in Sierra Vista, Arizona.