By DAVID C. COMSTOCK JR.
Budget concerns for the City of Bay Village, Ohio, in the spring of 2008 led the city to adopt changes that substantially reduced overtime for its firefighters. In addition, Bay Village Fire Department (BVFD) Chief James Sammon, a 30-plus-year firefighter, recommended that the department's dive team be eliminated. His recommendation was adopted by Mayor Deborah Sutherland and approved by the city council. Sammon explained that the dive team had been used on an average of less than once per year; had never actually rescued anyone; and cost between $10,000 and $12,000 in overtime annually. In addition, he determined that during the prior eight-year period, Bay Village had purchased a total of more than $26,000 in diving gear and equipment.
When the dive team was officially disbanded in June 2008, Sammon distributed a memorandum to all firefighting personnel outlining new procedures for the use of mutual-aid dive teams from the Cleveland (OH) Metro Park rangers and the adjacent cities of Rocky River and Avon Lake. Following the team's disbandment, a 12-year-old boy drowned in August and a seven-year-old boy drowned in September.
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