If you see a lot of emergency vehicles around the Church Street boat ramp Thursday evening — it’s the Evanston Fire Department hosting a regional night dive training exercise.
From 6:30 p.m. until about 10 p.m., the Evanston Fire Department Dive Rescue Team will be conducting a Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) Division 3 joint training exercise with area fire departments and Evanston lifeguards at the Church Street boat launch area.
The drills will focus on the location and rescue of stranded boaters or swimmers in dusk and nighttime conditions.
Fire Division Chief Kimberly Kull says training opportunities like this give MABAS Division 3 departments the ability to pool their personnel and resources to accomplish their mission faster and more efficiently.
Water-based operations, she says, are extremely technical and only successful when agencies work together.