ON FEBUARY 9TH 2007 THE DECATUR FIRE DEPT. DIVE TEAM HELD AN ICE DIVE DRILL AT LAKE DECATUR. WITH THE RECENT COLD WEATHER THERE WAS A 6” LAYER OF ICE OVER THE ENTIRE LAKE MAKING CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR THE DRILL. THE DRILL STARTED WITH MEMBERS FROM S-1, LT. DOUG NEFF, FF’S MATT HINDS AND NEIL ELDER SETTING UP ONE OF THE T.R.T. ZUMRO INFLATEABLE TENTS ON THE JETTY BY THE LAKE PATROL OFFICE. THE LAKE PATROL HAD CLEARED THE SNOW FROM THE JETTY, HAD OPENED THE GATE TO THE LAKE AND TURNED ON THE POWER BY THE VIEWING STAND. AFTER THE TENT WAS INFLATED, S-1 MEMBERS INSTALLED ONE OF THE PROPANE HEATERS IN THE TENT WHICH GAVE US A WARM AND PRIVATE PLACE TO CHANGE AND GET GEARED UP. WHILE THE DIVE TEAM WAS UNLOADING GEAR INTO THE TENT THE S-1 MEMBERS WORKED ON CUTTING A TRIANGLE SHAPED HOLE IN THE ICE. THE DIVE TEAM CURRENTLY HAS 4 MEMBERS TRAINED AT THE ICE DIVER LEVEL, CAPT. GARY WORKMAN, CAPT. DAN KLINE, FF’S STEVE PENHALLEGON AND TIM MAY. ALSO PRESENT WERE LT. JIM OHL AND FF’S TOM COLBERT AND TYLER NEWSOME. THE DRILL COMMENCED WITH FF PENHALLEGON AS THE FIRST DIVER WITH MAY AS SAFETY, THEN THE TWO SWITCHED ROLES. CAPT. WORKMAN WAS 3RD DIVER WITH CAPT. KLINE AS SAFETY THEN SWITCHED. EACH DIVER WAS ABLE TO SPEND APPROX. 15 MINUITES UNDER THE ICE ON THEIR DIVE. CONDITIONS UNDER THE ICE WERE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN A DIVE IN THE SUMMER. APART FROM THE TEMPETURE (36 DEGREES), THE VISABILITY WAS REMARKABLY IMPROVED DUE TO THE SETTLING OF SEDIMENT IN THE WATER. WHERE VISIBILITY IS ALMOST NOTHING DURING THE OPEN WATER MONTHS, WE ENCOUNTERED A GOOD 6 FEET DURING THE DRILL. FROM LEAVING THE FIRE HOUSE TO BACK THE TOTAL TIME FOR THE DRILL WAS 4.5 HOURS. THE TRAINING WAS VERY WORTH WHILE FOR OUR MEWMBERS BOTH THE DIVE TEAM AND T.R.T. TEAM