Tragic Danville drowning sparks newly-formed operations team

By John Crane
Published: July 30, 2010

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About 25 firefighters from agencies throughout Pittsylvania County will undergo swift-water rescue training on the Dan River this weekend.

They make up the newly-formed Pittsylvania County Special Operations Team — and most of their training will take place behind the water treatment plant on Gypsum Road in Danville.

Personnel will also train at the dam at Brantley Steam plant, where Kolton Karnes drowned in April, said James H. Satterfield, chief for the Pittsylvania County Special Operations Team.

Satterfield, who was Karnes’ next-door neighbor in Laurel Grove, said members of the community’s fire department including Larry Strader, Karnes’s uncle and the department’s chief, approached the Pittsylvania County Fire & Rescue Association about forming the team shortly after Karnes’ drowning.

There were swift-water trained personnel scattered among the county’s fire and rescue agencies with no formal group, Satterfield said.

“We wanted to know how we could rectify that and create a team,” Satterfield said.

Satterfield, Strader, Johnie Dooley and Josh Stowe had traveled to Bedford County to learn how its team operated and to get recommendations on how to start, Satterfield said. Dooley is a Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s deputy and fireman with departments in Mount Hermon and Kentuck, while Stowe serves with Tunstall’s fire department.

Personnel will train Saturday and Sunday and it will be the first for the 25-member team. The training will get the members certified on the state and national levels, Satterfield said.

The organization has a waiting list of about a dozen more people who want to join, Satterfield said. The team has to get enough funding to train and equip the additional personnel before accepting more members. The team’s goal is to have 50, Satterfield said.

Satterfield said the group hopes to be fully functional by Sept. 1, and within three years to have boats, trailers and more equipment for rescues.