SULTAN – Every second can count when a swimmer or rafter is in trouble on the Skykomish River.
But firefighters in Sultan say rescuing someone caught under a logjam or in swift current can be impossible if they can’t get to the victim.
Firefighter Tim Tullis hopes his hours at a computer terminal will save valuable time during an emergency on the river. Tullis recently finished a set of computer-generated maps that detail the area’s waterways, where firefighters can access rivers and streams and where the water can be dangerous for rescuers.
The new maps are part of an ongoing project to plot every house, road, fire hydrant, swimming hole and access point on the river in Snohomish County Fire District 5.
“It can really make a difference. I think it really cuts down on our response time,” Tullis said.
The maps replace hand-drawn sketches firefighters had relied on to find houses in the woods. The 3-inch-thick books with the new maps are carried in all firetrucks so rescuers won’t have to rely only on an address given by emergency dispatchers.
The department’s swift-water rescue team is called out on 10 to 20 water rescues a year. Sultan firefighters cover 72 square miles, and much of the district is in rural east Snohomish County, where houses are often on private, unmarked roads tucked back in places that aren’t on commercial maps such as the Thomas Guide.
“Addresses in the city are fairly accurate, but when you get out into the woods, I’m not comfortable with ‘take a right at the second stump and go up the hill,’” Tullis said.
The district bought the computer software about five years ago, and Tullis has been working his way through the district ever since then.
New houses are being built in the district at a steady pace. Tullis tries to update the maps as soon as possible.
“It’ll never be done,” he said.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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