For the frogmen of the Worcester Fire Department’s dive rescue team, underwater Lake Quinsigamond, murky and deep, is part maze, part minefield.
Shopping carts proliferate in the water by White City. Brownie Beach once was a hot spot for getting rid of cars. And the cables under the surface that keep the rowing racecourse lanes aligned? They are an underwater cat’s cradle to be threaded.
“We get tangled a lot,” says Firefighter Robert Binette, 48, the team’s senior diver, with 18 years’ experience.
The dive rescue team is called in cases of reported drownings, which spike in the hot summer months. Divers also recover criminal evidence, such as guns and knives, tossed in the water. If a car ends up in a pond, they must dive to find out if anyone is inside.
“If there is a scuba alert at any of the 31 bodies of water in the city, we’re going to respond,” said Firefighter Binette.