By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The Hamburg Township Fire Department is purchasing some needed dive gear as some members are becoming part of the Livingston County Dive Team.

Fire Chief Nick Miller was before the Board of Trustees at a recent meeting seeking approval of a budgeted purchase to outfit three of their personnel with necessary dive equipment. The team provides underwater search/rescue and recovery operations within Livingston County.

Miller said one of their goals as an organization over the last couple years was to have more involvement with special response teams, including the county dive team. He noted they have lots of water in the township so to have that be available is important.

Miller said they have five members currently on the team – two that are “tenders” or support roles and help a diver in the water while the other three are divers that perform searches. The police department also has one diver on the team. Miller said they’ve been going through training for a little over a year and had been able to use loaner gear through that process but are now at the point where the members are basically certified, finishing up final steps and doing well. He said before making any investments, they wanted to make sure they had people who were committed and comfortable with it, adding the individuals are doing a great job.

The equipment is purchased through the Hartland Deerfield Fire Authority, which coordinates all dive team equipment. Miller noted that everything is standardized on the team so divers from different areas all have the same gear. The request to purchase the equipment was approved by the board at a cost of $11,885.