Eastside Fire and Rescue’s Swiftwater Rescue Team will be conducting a two-day training session Thursday and Friday, April 17 and 18, along the waterways of North Bend.

This year, departments from Woodinville and Fall City will also be participating in the drill.

Over the two-day training, rescuers will practice reading the river, dynamics and rules of the river, self-rescues from strainers, live bait rescues, river crossings, the use of rope systems, and learning to safely maneuver through the river.

On the second day, the scenario-based drill will take rescuers into the evening hours practicing in water as well as near shore searches. In addition, members from the Technical Rescue Team will be simultaneously conducting a rope rescue drill.

Each year during the spring and summer months, Eastside Fire and Rescue responds to an increase in water rescues. The Swiftwater Rescue Team will work on a number of evolutions and safety issues for the rescuer. The exercises will give photographers and journalists a photo opportunity and a better understanding of the potential hazards and techniques used in these emergency situations.