Rock Island State Park Recognized for Its Partnerships with Rescue Teams’ Training

Rock Island State Park is being recognized its work in building partnerships over the last decade to provide ideal swift water rescue training for fire departments and rescue teams. Many groups come from other states, often driving hundreds of miles to develop these lifesaving techniques.

The park hosts teams from Tennessee, Texas, Illinois, and others each year. Those groups need a site with consistent waterflow that simulates flood disaster conditions in a semi-controlled environment. Such sites can be difficult to find, but Rock Island State Park has worked with rescue teams from across the country over recent years to provide an excellent location for that training.

A group from the Texas A&M Extension Service has traveled each spring for 12 years to Rock Island to do its training. The Texas Task Force 1 recently presented the park with a plaque in recognition of its partnership. The Texas teams who come to Rock Island were the primary responders during the catastrophic Texas flooding last summer, when more than 130 people died. The plaque was made with tree debris from the Texas recovery area. The Texas A&M group usually consists of 60-100 personnel and 10-20 boats, making it the largest group to perform its training at the park.

The Texas group also presented a plaque to the TVA River Operations Center for its coordination in helping make training events successful.

“We are very proud to build such meaningful partnerships,” said Damon Graham, park manager at Rock Island. “It is gratifying to know we can provide a location and assistance for those who come here, and it’s especially gratifying to know we can help make a difference in disaster response.”

Rock Island State Park has natural waterfalls, elevation changes, and discharges from the TVA Great Falls Powerhouse that can create somewhat consistent swift water flows. The training is dangerous, but the setting can make it as safe as possible while having conditions realistic for a flood response. Tennessee State Parks rangers have also attended several of the training sessions to improve safety on our local waterways.

Rescue groups mainly learn about the park's opportunities by word of mouth and through the whitewater kayaking community. Rock Island State Park has hosted professional international whitewater kayaking events, including the World Cup with competitors from all over the world.

TVA has been an integral part of the partnerships between the park and the fire/rescue organizations. When possible, TVA helps to manage water flows conducive to make the lifesaving trainings successful.