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Norristown Volunteer Fire Department Diving Rescue Unit
PO Box 1177
Norristown, PA 19404
610-272-9111
History
 The Norristown Volunteer Diving Rescue Unit is a specialty group in the Norristown Fire Department. It was started in 1976 by members of the Fire Department who recognized the need for this type of water service for the community. Currently housed in the Humane Fire Company at Main and Green Streets, the unit is one of the two diving units in Montgomery County.
While our main focus is underwater, we also assist with above water incidents. Training is on a regular basis throughout the year. Our current area of protection runs approximately from the Betzwood Bridge to Flat Rock Dam.
Assisting both fire and police departments, our dedicated men and women perform a variety of duties from being dispatched to the rescue/recovery of drowning victims to assisting police with recovery of evidence from crime scenes. But we are not limited to just the Schuylkill river! We have responded to quarries, ponds, streams and even flooded roadways during storms.
In addition to our emergency responsibilities, we also enjoy educating the public at Fire Prevention about water-safety with our mascot Sami the Safety Shark (who always is wearing his Personal Flotation Device), standing-by at water events and assisting the Fish and Boat Commission with buoy placement.
Volunteers that include both divers and non-divers known as “tenders” staff the unit. Tenders play an important role in assisting the divers and are in charge of the patterns that a diver performs during a search.
To become part of the Diving Unit, you must present an application and be accepted to one of the five Norristown Fire Companies. Once part of the Department, you can then join the Diving Unit! Please accept our invitation to come out and see the unit and consider becoming a volunteer!
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