Ice Dive Training at Enemy Swim Lake

Francis Ramm was certified in October 2004, by Bill Donovan, a Scuba School International (SSI) Instructor Trainer (IT), at Donovan’s Hobby and Scuba Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Francis has logged over 165 dives since 2004 and is certified in open water, dry suit diving, nitrox gas, stress and rescue, ice diving, fast water training, and will soon have his Dive Control Specialist Certification.

For the past two years, Francis has been an active member of the Emergency Management Dive Team, formerly known as the Minnehaha County Civil Defense. Francis was interviewed and accepted to the dive team on October 11, 2007. In June 2007, Francis was involved in setting up a rescue training scenario for the Emergency Management Dive Team and the Sioux Falls Fire Rescue at a gravel pit filled with water approximately 14 feet deep, with a “dummy victim” sitting inside the car. This drill was held as a joint training session for the Emergency Management System Teams in Minnehaha County, so each team can utilize their resources to the best of their ability in an emergency situation. The drill was covered by two of the local news teams (KELO-TV, KSFY-TV) and the Argus Leader.