By LISA SIMPSON STRANGE
Glasgow Daily Times
GLASGOW —
The world is dark and quiet except for the sound of the diver’s own breath inside the mask cinched tightly against the face. Having just submerged beneath the surface, thoughts of “Star Wars” and “Darth Vader” intrude momentarily before the diver adjusts to breathing in and out through the regulator.
Looking up from the muddy bottom of the lake, the diver can see sunlight on the surface of the water, but a gloved hand held no more than a foot away from the front of the mask is lost in the murkiness. And even though only submerged in a few feet of water, the diver feels a sense of disconnection and otherworldliness.
Members of the Barren County Dive Team experience adverse conditions including limited visibility and underwater hazards such as stumps and logs, debris and tangled fishing line each time they are called to dive in search of victims at Barren River Lake. To remain sharp, the members try to train at least once a month, according to firefighter Kevin Poynter, the team’s diving instructor.
Recently, Poynter and volunteer firefighters Jeff Wyatt, Jonathan Hughes and Clint Hall spent a couple of hours training and swimming underwater at the beach area of Beaver Creek Boat Ramp where they practice their diving skills.
After making preparations onshore and checking equipment, which includes masks, fins, air tanks, regulators, buoyancy control devices and gauges, they set up a dive flag and buoy alerting passing boaters to their presence and then slipped beneath the surface of the water. Altogether, the equipment weighs approximately 60 pounds. The divers also carry flashlights, knives, compasses and other assorted gear that helps them deal with any underwater dangers that might arise.
Trails of bubbles on the surface were the tell-tale signs of where the divers were as they moved beneath the water. They can safely submerge to depths of about 100 feet in the lake with the equipment they have, according to Wyatt.
Hall is the “probie” of the group. At 19, he has been with the Haywood VFD for almost a year. He was left onshore to man the radio that is used with the headsets of the divers and allows them to communicate with each other. He was also listening to the scanner in case any emergencies occurred during the training session to which they might be called.
“I haven’t had any SCUBA training yet. I like to sit up here and help out. I’m kind of like their gopher,” he said.
