The Portage Fire Water Rescue, Search & Recovery Team is where firefighting meets the water. We are a specialized unit of 18 active firefighter members — 6 certified boat operators and 12 certified rescue divers — standing ready around the clock for Lake Michigan, the region’s rivers, and the waterways of Northern Indiana. When seconds count and the emergency is in, on, or under the water, this is the team that launches.
What We Do
Our members are trained — and re-trained — to perform under the toughest conditions the Great Lakes can produce. Core capabilities include:
- Surface and underwater rescue and recovery
- Rescue diving in open water, current, and low/zero visibility
- Fireboat and small-craft (RIB / inflatable) boat operations
- Personal watercraft (jet-ski) rapid rescue
- Precise line tending and tethered search patterns
- Shore-based and swiftwater rope rescue
- Marine firefighting and boat-fire suppression
Trained Hard, Trained Often
Skill on the water is perishable, so we never stop drilling. The team trains every month to keep dive, boat, and rescue skills razor-sharp — working the pool, the river, and open water. On top of that monthly cycle, the whole team comes together each year for an intensive, week-long training event dedicated to honing and pressure-testing our skills side by side: dive operations, boat handling, victim recovery, sonar search, rope systems, and joint drills with our partner agencies. It is where good divers become a great team.
Partners on the Water — and the Region’s Front Line
We work hand-in-hand with the United States Coast Guard, training together on helicopter hoist operations, joint rescues, and coordinated search efforts so that when a real call comes, we already know how to operate as one crew. As Coast Guard staffing has thinned across our stretch of the lake, Portage Fire has stepped up to take over rescue operations for much of the Northern Indiana response area — a responsibility we take seriously and train relentlessly to meet.
That commitment doesn’t stop at the city line. When a neighboring county needs help, we answer: the team responds mutual aid to surrounding counties for water search, rescue, and recovery whenever we’re requested, adding depth and specialized capability to the wider region.
Our Equipment & Coverage
The team operates purpose-built fireboats, a dedicated dive/marine apparatus, rescue inflatables, personal watercraft, and state-of-the-art dive and sonar equipment — everything needed to respond to emergencies on Lake Michigan and inland waters. Whether it’s pulling a swimmer from a rip current, reaching a disabled or burning boat, searching with side-scan sonar, or carrying out a recovery for a grieving family, we are the region’s first line of defense against water-related emergencies.
Think You Have What It Takes?
Every member of this team started as a Portage firefighter first. If you want a career where training is constant, the mission matters, and the water is your battleground, we want to hear from you.