The Hoffman Estates Fire Department has several specialty teams. No emergency is ever the same, so different situations require different expertise, equipment, and approaches.

HEFD’s Dive Team consists of nine specialty-trained rescue divers, with three divers on each of the Department’s three shifts. The Dive Team receives specialty training for rescuing both submerged victims and those on the water’s surface, as well as training in search and recovery of underwater evidence. The Dive Team operates utilizing a Surface Supplied Air (SSA) system that uses equipment to supply breathing air to divers underwater through umbilical cables from the surface.

In addition to answering calls to help in local and regional water emergencies, the Dive Team members can also be deployed throughout the nation for water-based emergencies.

HEFD Lt. Nick Forsythe was deployed to North Carolina during Hurricane Helene in 2024. His deployment lasted 14 days and included several swiftwater-based rescues, primary searches for missing victims, and the clearing of structures, vehicles, and debris.

The HEFD’s Dive Team would also like to remind people to practice water safety:

• Always wear a personal flotation device in open water and around pools if you cannot swim
• Dive in designated areas only
• Never swim alone
• Avoid drugs and alcohol near water
• “Turn around, Don’t drown”
  • It only takes 6 inches of moving water to knock over an adult.
  • It only takes 12 inches of moving water to carry away most cars.
• There is NO safe ice!