NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — The day after a driver crashed through a guardrail in Washington, D.C. and fell to his death in the icy Potomac River, first responders in Hampton Roads showed how they are ready for cold water rescues.
Newport News Fire Department is part of the Marine Incident Response Team , a cooperative among several surrounding agencies.
2 dead after truck drove off Arlington Memorial Bridge, into Potomac River
David Garrett, a firefighter and EMT with Newport News, said the MIRT divers use two kinds of protective gear for cold water dives — a dry suit and a semi-dry suit. The dry suit features a rubber seal around the neck for deeper, colder rescues.
Garrett described the thermocline, the divider between warmer surface water and the second layer of depth where more danger lurks…