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The waters of Lake Superior can be dangerous, so emergency responders need as many life-saving methods as possible
Van Riper DNR members along with the Marquette County Fire Inspector gathered at the Baraga Marina Friday to receive equipment from the Great Lakes Unmanned Systems Center of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.
An Emily ERS, or Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyards Emergency Rescue Systems, training session was held to familiarize these workers with the device.
This life saving mechanism is used as a remote controlled flotation device that can get help get to drowning victims as soon as possible.
“It’ll definitely increase our response time. Even with life jackets and things like that, you would still have to swim out or you would have to wait for a boat for the coast guard station in Marquette and this being on site will cut that time down to minutes or less,” said Van Riper Park Officer, Brian Krease.
This was the first time these DNR workers had used these devices. Prior to the training they have only seen videos on how to operate them.
Getting the hands on training helped them feel more comfortable using the device and understand the proper maintenance.
“It’s just really getting used to the controls, if you played with these things as a kid it just kind of comes naturally, so it’s just really getting used to it,” said Krease.
The EMILY ERS will now be used at more places across the U.P., such as Little Presque Isle.
