Indiana emergency responders prepare

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana Task Force One, the elite team of 200 emergency responders located throughout the state, hit the water today to brush up on life saving skills.

They are one of 28 teams always on call to help when disaster strikes, and their resume is quite impressive.

They’ve helped 911 victims and Hurricane Sandy, Katrina and Floyd victims.

When their response time could make the difference between life or death, there can never be enough practice.

Today’s training focused on navigating in choppy water.

One person is focused on looking at the GPS system, one steers the boat while the other is scanning the water looking for survivors.

The pool of 200 in the state of Indiana who signed the dotted line meet up just a few times a year to keep their skills sharp, according to coordinator Mike Pruitt.

“We set up a course. The boat operators have go through numerous drills. When we operate in fast moving water, our people have to have the confidence to work in an environment like that” said Mike Pruitt with the Wayne Township Fire Department.