Marine Sonic Technology’s training director, Regan Lipinski, speaks during a training seminar at the Border Inn and Suites on Tuesday morning hosted by the Lloydminster Rescue Squad. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Having the best equipment on the market only gets you places when you’ve got the training to know how to use it.
That was the mentality at the Border Inn and Suites on Tuesday during a training seminar by Marine Sonic Technology, hosted by the Lloydminster Rescue Squad (LRS).
Last year, the LRS was fortunate enough to have a Marine Sonic Explorer MKII tow fish system purchased for them by Boundary Ford.
The Explorer MKII is the newest generation of Marine Sonic’s towed side scan sonar designed for search, survey, and recovery applications.
The high-resolution imaging and simultaneous dual-frequency operation in conjunction with a fully adjustable tow point and transducer angle make it an ideal tool for survey and infrastructure inspection applications that require a high level of flexibility.
Each year, Marine Sonic provides six free training sessions in any location that utilizes its equipment.
This training, valued at $7,200USD, ensures crews using their products fully understand its many capabilities.
“We’ve learned a lot about terminology as well as what we’re actually looking at on our screens,” said LRS deputy chief Ryan LeBlanc.
“When we’re reading the sonar and using this equipment, we’re now learning how to better properly use it when we’re searching for someone who’s drowned, or if we’re trying to find something in the water.
“Day one is in class, and tomorrow we’ll be out at Makwa Lake doing sonar searches in the water.”
Agencies taking part in the training outside of Lloyd Rescue included the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team (HEART) Team, the underwater recovery team from the RCMP, and Prince Albert Grand Council, to name a few.
Marine Sonic’s training director, Regan Lipinski, who travelled to the Border City from Virginia, was running Tuesday’s indoor training seminar and was pleased with how things went.
“We’re training the agencies that use our products how to better use the systems they have, as well as what systems are out there that will solve some of their missions,” said Lipinski.
“No matter what they’re looking for, they’re not only using new equipment, they’re also trying to get better with their old equipment.”
For Lipinski, the most important thing is ensuring the industry itself is providing first responders with the tools and training they need to do their jobs.
