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Lucky 13 at dive rescue's new building
Unit finally finds its own home after 20 years in the cold
Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by EMILY BARNES
Charles County Dive Rescue Company 13 Chief Skeeter Porter leans on Dive Boat 13 as he is interviewed in the apparatus bay at the company's new facility in Pomfret.
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What started with funds from a house of horrors has now become a house of rescue.
The Charles County Dive Rescue unit, also known as Company 13, dedicated its new facility, Station 13, at 1300 hours, or 1 p.m., on Sunday, Dec. 13.
At 1313 hours, Chief Skeeter Porter called the county to say the station was in service and operational.
"It's kind of quirky," Porter said. "We thought it was cool."
For 20 years, the dive rescue unit did not have a facility to call its own and much of its apparatus was stored under awnings or tarps.
"It's great to finally have a home," he said, adding that it builds camaraderie. "My guys have worked so hard, they are the best group of volunteers."
The facility has two bays along with male and female bunkrooms, a lounge, physical training room, kitchen and meeting room.
"We are tickled to death with the facility," Porter said.
According to Porter, Sunday was "tremendously joyful."
The building was dedicated to all of the county's emergency volunteer services and citizens. "Without the community support, we wouldn't be here," Porter said.
He compared the experience to a family reunion, saying that a lot of old members came back.
"I was thrilled," he said. "I still get thrilled just coming to the building."
During the ceremony, the team dedicated its new dive rescue 13 vehicle to Michael Smith, a former officer on the team and president, who died in 2003.
The team also rededicated its very first vehicle, the dive support unit, to Dave Russell, the company's founding father.
Russell was "very instrumental in shaping the team in our initial direction and our aggressive attitude toward training. We would not be where we are at without his leadership early on and tenacity in getting things off the ground," Porter said.
In response to the dedication, Russell was ecstatic, he said. "I'm very proud of the team and their accomplishments. It's very exciting to have seen and witnessed the growth in the unit and the difference that they're making. They are an amazing group of men and women."
Commissioners' Vice President Edith J. Patterson (D) and Commissioner Samuel N. Graves Jr. (D) attended the event. Charles County Sheriff Rex W. Coffey (D) was also present.
"As a fireman, I was on the scene of a drowning of a small child," Russell said. "It was pretty traumatic for the folks that were there. We didn't have the training or the equipment. As a first responder, I don't think there's anything worse than a situation where you can't provide a solution."
This led Russell to research water rescue efforts around the country. He learned of an instance in Chicago where a young child was submerged for over an hour. After rescuing the child, a medical staff member was able to resuscitate the child. At the time nothing of the sort had ever been done before.
"I began to understand that drownings are medical emergencies and not simply deaths," Russell said.
In 1989, Russell put an advertisement in the paper and rented the Indian Head Volunteer Fire Department to get the word out and possibly form a dive unit. "People were coming out of the woodwork to be a part of it," he said.
The team's very first meeting was scheduled for March 1989, however, due to a bad ice storm, the meeting was rescheduled for July, Porter said.
That same year, Russell suggested a haunted house fundraiser and nominated Porter to be the director.
As a teen, Porter worked at Theatre Vampire and Blood Manor which inspired the name Vampire Manor.
For nearly 12 years, Vampire Manor was the main source of funds for the rescue unit. "It was tremendously successful," he said.
The proceeds would go toward the unit's equipment and operations.
It wasn't until 1997 that the dive rescue unit was accepted as part of the Charles County Volunteer Firemen's Association. In 2001, the unit started receiving tax money which helped build the facility.
"We couldn't build this with Vampire Manor funds," Porter said, adding that money raised through Vampire Manor helped outfit the facility.
