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Alameda County takes second in San Diego challenge
Sheriff's office six-member swiftwater team competes in charity event By Kim Santos STAFF WRITER Saturday, October 04, 2003 - SAN DIEGO -- The Alameda County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Unit placed second Friday in the inaugural Rigg International Swiftwater Challenge for charity. The competition pitted teams of swiftwater rescue professionals against each other in athletic events that required skills used in actual flooding and swiftwater recoveries, and benefited the Higgins and Langley Memorial Awards in Swiftwater and Flood Rescue. Teams consisted of six members, all of whom had to participate. Alameda County's Search and Rescue Unit is a volunteer organization that includes professionals who are certified in areas such as hazardous materials, underwater search and rescue and rope rescue. Just before competition, the unit selected eight members to attend -- six participants and two alternates. With more than a half-century of swiftwater experience between them, those chosen were Tim Helwig, Ray Ericson, Brian Erickson, Leah Waarvik, Bob Ranoa, Andrew Wright, Bill Weber and Mariano Caunday. Weber served as captain of the team and said before results were tallied that he hoped for a strong second-place finish. "We're proud of everyone and proud to be a part of it," Weber said by phone from San Diego. He and his colleagues faced three other teams: the College of Search and Rescue, staffed by professionals from the Los Angeles City Fire Department; the Los Angeles County Fire Department; and "Team X-Ray," which is composed of rescuers from various agencies. L.A. County Fire took first. Deputy Chief Steve Miller of the Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department in Maryland coordinated a team of judges that include personal watercraft athletic champion and swiftwater rescue instructor Shawn Alladio, as well as personnel from the San Diego Lifeguards and Special Rescue Services. "Getting these highly trained professionals together for a fund-raising event like the Rigg International is a first for me," Alladio said. "It will be exciting to see the teams battling each other to win the very first Challenge title. These motivated men and women know there will only be one first-time winner." Events included swimming rescues in swift currents, using rescue boats and personal watercraft, throwbag accuracy and recovery, and rigging rescue line systems. The two-day competition concluded Friday. The Alameda County Search and Rescue Unit was put together in the late 1950s as part of the county's answer to civil defense during the Cold War. Since then, the unit has developed into a multiservice group under the Office of Emergency Services and has more than 60 active volunteer members. www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86~10671~1676474,00.html |