Water rescue drill in Monterey Bay; multiple agencies take to land, air, and sea

This is just a drill – two swimmers in distress are seen floating in the Monterey Bay. Rescue teams are called in and the search begins on the sea and in the air.

Helping out on land, the people behind the drill – the Community Emergency Response Team or C.E.R.T.

On Saturday, over 60 people from multiple agencies in Monterey County came together for this large water rescue drill. While crews were just training, rescue crews said this happens all too often on the Central Coast.

Monterey Fire Capt. Barry Perkins said, “We have a very active dive community. A lot of different groups that chose to recreate on our shoreline and sometimes these people do get into trouble.”

Unfortunately, Perkins said this is something he knows first hand. A few years back he was part of the team sent out to rescue a group of school kids visiting from Reno.

“We lost two boys who were diving, both 17 years old. It was really tragic,” said Perkins.

But that experience is also Perkins motivation to participate in these kinds of trainings.

In total the rescue drill was only about 20 minutes, but in real life it could potentially take hours to locate a victim in the water. But Perkins said sometimes you don’t ever locate the victim. That’s why C.E.R.T. holds these trainings – because when a real emergency hits, teams are ready for anything.

C.E.R.T. member Greg Netzorg said, “I think it went well. It’s always a learning experience for us. We make our mistakes but we learn from them.”

The Community Emergency Response Team program is a FEMA sponsored group. C.E.R.T. members often step in during large emergencies when fire and police crews are spread thin.