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On Feb. 22, 2003, flooding on the North Fork of the Roanoke River washed Brian Quesenberry's pickup from a bridge on North Fork Road. A good Samaritan used a boat to pull the 30-year-old from the river.

Later in the afternoon, Quesenberry and his father, Stewart Quesenberry, returned with a small boat to salvage Brian Quesenberry's rifle from the truck. The boat overturned, and the men held onto trees rising out of the swollen river while local rescue personnel made unsuccessful attempts to save them from the fast currents.

It would be two hours before the swift-water rescue team from Salem, the only such team in the area at that time, was able to rescue the men. Brian Quesenberry died shortly after being removed from the freezing waters.

That was one of three drowning incidents that claimed four lives in the New River Valley in 2003. New River Valley emergency response personnel decided it was time to have a swift-water rescue team of their own.

Now, the New River Valley Swift Water Rescue and Recovery Association has both a trained staff and equipment for the job.

Through summer and winter, the team has participated in drills, classes and other training exercises to offer rescue and recovery services to the region.

Chief Lee Simpkins of the Radford Fire Department is co-chairman of the organization, which is made up of members from both paid and volunteer departments throughout the New River Valley.

The upcoming summer months, a time when people are out and about in the New River Valley's lakes and rivers, are the busiest season for the team.

Since it began, the association has geared up in more ways than one.

"The whole New River Valley has literally bought thousands and thousands of dollars worth of equipment," said Simpkins.

The majority of the money came from the operations budgets of rescue organizations in Radford and in Montgomery, Giles and Pulaski counties. The swift-water team includes members of the Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad, Christiansburg Fire Department, Christiansburg Rescue Squad, Elliston Fire Department, Regional Emergency Medical Services, Radford Fire Department, Virginia Tech Police Department, Giles County Rescue Squad and Longshop-McCoy Fire Department and Rescue Squad.

Several of the departments have rescue boats, and Longshop-McCoy and Radford also have swift-water rescue boats, specially designed for fast, heavy currents. Giles County just bought two water rescue boats as well, Simpkins said.

Most of the members specialize in both diving and swift-water rescue. The team can respond in as little as 30 minutes, he said.

But these members do more than just save lives during water disasters. They also have the power to affect the community in other ways, even within their separate departments.

Association member Curtis Cook, a detective who also serves as the underwater recovery team coordinator for the Virginia Tech Police Department, said he and three other divers recovered missing jewelry and a camcorder, among other items, from the Roanoke River recently. The request for the diving team came from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, but the evidence also tied into cases from two other jurisdictions.

"Finding the property nailed the coffin shut," he said.

Many times, police receive confessions or leads that point to evidence lying in a body of water.

"Once you confirm that, you have a good, solid case," Cook said.

In another incident, firefighter Jeremy Williams of the Christiansburg Fire Department and a team of divers also recovered a specially designed crutch from Claytor Lake for an 8-year-old boy. The crutch cost $750 and would not have been covered by insurance.

Williams said that although some communities do not have large bodies of water, their volunteers still want to help the region.

At the association's June 21 meeting, Simpkins stressed the importance of teaching the public about water safety -- and the importance of ensuring association members also are safe.

"Any time you get the opportunity, check your dive equipment to make sure it is in good working condition," he said at the meeting. "The time to find out that it is not working is not when you are 30 to 40 feet under."

Simpkins also showed interest in finding a local dam for specialized training. He said three body recoveries across the state last year were a result of drownings near dams.

"We're constantly working to improve to be able to provide swift-water rescue to the area," Simpkins said. "And we've come an extremely long way from where we originally started."

Although the members make up a loosely built organization, they are all united in recognizing a need to provide swift-water services to the area, said Louisa Gay, secretary for the association and a 28-year veteran of the Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad.

Because a drowning or flooding situation is harsh, it calls for tough training measures. Rescue team members are sometimes as much at risk as the people they're trying to rescue.

"One reason you need to train really hard is that so many of the people who go into rescue end up having to be rescued themselves," she said.