On Thursday August 6 at 7:28pm Columbia County 911 dispatched the Hudson Fire Department for a male subject who had gone underwater and not resurfaced at Oakdale Lake in the city.

Assistant Chief Anthony DeMarco Jr. arrived within two minutes of the call followed in quick succession by HFD Dive Unit 17-70 and Rescue Engine 27-9.

HFD members found Hudson Police Officer Mishanda Franklin-Cox in the water attempting to locate the subject, her efforts were without success.

Captain/Rescue Diver Nicholas Pierro established the Dive Operations Section near the dock where the victim was last seen. A Command Post was established in the parking lot of the beach house; and dive equipment staging was coordinated by FF/Dive Tender Darrin Gansowski.

At 7:41pm FF/Rescue Divers Mark Graziano, Justin Elliott, and Assistant Chief/Rescue Diver DeMarco entered the water in full SCUBA equipment and began a coordinated underwater search.

They were directed to the area the victim was last seen by Firefighter/Diver Samuel Santiago who was speaking to the victims family in Spanish. Trained HFD Dive Tenders used rope signals to communicate search patterns with the Rescue Divers while they were submerged.

At 7:54pm FF/Diver Mark Graziano surfaced with the victim and immediately swam to shore with him.

The victim, a 53 year old male, was turned over to Paramedic crews from the Greenport Rescue Squad who administered Advanced Cardiac Life Support medications and CPR. FF/Rescue Diver Santiago accompanied the victims family to Columbia Memorial Hospital to continue his translation duties for hospital staff.

The victim was successfully revived at Columbia Memorial and was later transferred to Albany Medical Center for further treatment.

FF/Rescue Diver Graziano reported he was at 24 feet when he located the victim. He, as well the other divers reported that below the 10 foot mark in the lake the water temperature was "frigid".

The quick response by the HFD Rescue Divers as well as the cold water temperatures at the depth the victim was found allowed this gentleman to have a second chance at life.

Approximately 30 members of the Hudson Fire Department assisted at the scene in various roles.

Columbia County Fire Coordinator John Howe, joined by Deputy Fire Coordinators Joseph Loeffler, and Peter Harvey assisted within the command structure during the operation.

Mayor William Hallenbeck, Youth Commissioner Gerald Wood were also on scene.

The Hudson Fire Department Dive Team was formed after a tragic incident at the Hudson River where a child drowned while playing at the bulkhead of the Hudson Boat Launch. In that case it took over 90 minutes for a diver to arrive on scene. The child was found in approximately 30 feet of water, over two hours after the initial dispatch, in the exact spot he was last seen.

Members on scene that day developed one mission: to never again allow such a long response time, with no hope for survival, for the youth and residents of the City of Hudson. The team trained for over a year and was placed into service in early 2003.

Firefighter Graziano and Assistant Chief DeMarco were among the first group of Rescue Divers trained.

This year the team upgraded some of the original equipment to allow for cold water and under ice diving. They also received a used 1989 Mack/Marion Rescue Truck to house and transport their equipment in a more efficient manner.

The team trains together on a regular basis; with the most recent training session being deep water dive training on the Sunday before this incident in Lake George, NY.