Indiana River Rescue School shaping heroes in South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Indiana River Rescue School (IRRS) is hosting the first of several springtime week-long swift water rescue training sessions at the East Race Waterway for first responders across the country.

“We’ve got a really unique situation here with this East Race. It provides a semi-controlled swift water environment that you just really can’t get hardly anywhere else in the world,” said South Bend Firefighter and Indiana River Rescue School Instructor, Kevin Bahus.

With a two-year-long waitlist, the school is designed to prepare emergency responders for real-world incidents. They offer training in skills across the board, like boating and in-water rescue drills with practice props like a car they sink in the water.

“The training that we train on here at the school allows us to be confident in those situations and knowing when a body of water is a safe for us to move in and around… we need to take certain precautions to keep ourselves… safe when we’re working those areas,” said Indiana Conservation Officer and Indiana River Rescue School Instructor, Paul Crockett.