Once upon a time, Nick Rose and claustrophobia were incompatible. Things are better these days, though the phobia remains. “I have to focus on breathing and control the urge to panic,” he says. Caves are not his thing. Nor is the crawl space under anything.

In 2020, he began the process of conquering his phobia by learning how to dive at Ski Scuba; his classes were taught by diving guru and Ski Scuba owner Jimmie Wheeler. School began in Ski Scuba’s pool and eventually progressed to a pair of quarries — Philadelphia Quarry in Loudon County and the Lock Lo Minn Quarry near Athens.

Rose, 43, still dives in those quarries and in three others – Knoxville’s Fort Dickerson Quarry (at 250 feet it is the most dangerous one, he says), Meads Quarry and Gray Quarry in Johnson City. But he dives in many places too as part of Knox County Rescue’s (KCR) nine-member dive team – led by Dive Capt. Matt Willis, Dive Lt. Noah Sloan and Surface Water Lt. Justin Hines.

Knox County Rescue (KCR) Diver Nick Rose and the team at
the annual Dragon Boat races at Concord Park on Fort Loudon Lake

Rescue Diving is but one skill and certification Rose brings to the KCR operation. He’s a public safety diver, certified for advanced open water and swift-water rescue, with full-mask and dry suit certifications. There’s more. Out of the water, he is a KCR first responder fully qualified for hazardous materials rescue, heavy rescue, vehicle extraction, collapsed trench rescue, high-angle and cave rescues, and is an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT).

“I’ve not done any high-angle calls, and I don’t care for the caves. I’m a big guy (6-4, 270 pounds) and it can get real tight real fast in caves and that gets to me,” Rose says. “It still bothers me at times. It’s just a slow and steady progression of trusting your equipment and understanding how to get yourself out of trouble if it arises.”

Today, we honor this product of East Knox County and a Carter High School graduate (Class of 2001) as this week’s Our Town Hero for his 21 years of volunteer work at KCR and his commitment to serving his and our community.

Nick Rose

He also is the third-generation owner of the family’s business – Rose Plumbing Co., offering service work for residential and commercial properties, as well as remodeling and drainfield, waterline, and sewer line replacements. The man stays busy.

Rose manages a 120-acre hobby-type farm in East Knox County and has three children – Nate, 12; Bennett, 10; and Adalynn, 7.  He also raises Tennessee Fainting Goats. This is a unique American goat known for a hereditary muscular condition that causes them to stiffen and fall over when scared or startled. He also enjoys a small herd of six Scottish Highland Cattle.

John, Kristina and Sean Greenway and Rose are also the founders of the

Knoxville 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb to benefit the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Ten days ago, more than 700 firefighters in full gear, along with Junior ROTC members, climbed the equivalent of 110 flights of steps, matching the height of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. The local climb took place at Covenant Health Park and was coordinated by Shanna Wilhite to honor the 343 first responders who died on 9-11.

Most KCR divers are involved in recovering bodies. Some are rescues.

Two recoveries in particular hurt, Rose remembers. “I call it a heartache. In the spring of 2026, a young man jumped off the James White Parkway Bridge to end his life, and I was the second diver. We found him about 21 feet deep on the riverbed, and it took almost all day. The TWRA (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency) was there with their ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle — an unoccupied, free-swimming submersible craft). A week to the day later, his father jumped off the bridge on Northshore Drive near Concord Park, and we found him in zero visibility using the POV in about 50 feet of water. That was hard for us.”

Here are a few observations Rose shares about diving around here:

  • “The Tennessee River is like swimming in chocolate. Visibility is almost zero, and it can be dangerous with debris in the water. On a good day, you may have 3 to 5 feet of visibility, and that’s best case.”
  • “When you’re diving in what we call a blackout, you learn to close your eyes and use your mind and hands to feel for things.”
  • What about the critters he’s encountered? “The 100-pound soft-shell snapping turtles can be unnerving. They’re scary and aggressive. Seeing 7-foot-long sturgeon in the Holston River is quite a sight. Thankfully, they are docile. The quarries have a lot of fish – mostly bream, bluegill, bass and carp. And snakes too. And our lakes around here have a lot of really big catfish. They’re kinda fun.”
  • “From an emotional standpoint, recovering bodies after six years of doing it does not bother me now. No PTSD. I feel sad for the person, the families, and their friends. Recovering a kid or a very elderly person hurts me, I will admit.”
  • KCR’s dive team dives year-round…and it can be cold.. “The coldest water I’ve ever dived in was at Norris Lake a few years ago. We had 4” of ice on the top of the water. My dry suit worked.”

Very recently, only eight days ago, a man drove his car into Fort Loudon Lake at the Concord boat ramp off Northshore Drive.  People saw it happen and called 911. Rural Metro Fire was the first to arrive, and two firefighters swam to the car. They heard a voice screaming for help and making noises. The firefighters and two KCR drivers pulled the driver to the surface and saved him. Rose then dove to clear the car and make sure no one else was still in the car.

Let’s exit the lakes, rivers and quarries for now. He remembers his most difficult rescue experience as if it were yesterday – Frozen Head State Park in Morgan County. The park is in the Crab Orchard Mountains, which are some of the highest mountains in Tennessee west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“We went to Frozen Head to find and bring out an elderly gent in his 70s who had slipped off the trail in the rain and broken a femur. He was six miles in from the trailhead and we walked in the dark and heavy rain,” Rose recalls. “We finally found him and got him in a Stokes Basket and it took us six hours to get him down and we ended up having about 50 first responders from multiple agencies working together. The trails were treacherous and we swapped off carrying him down a sheer grade. Everyone had to be in great shape to get this successful rescue done.”

He was also part of the KCR team that responded to Hurricane Helene in late September 2024 that struck East Tennessee and western North Carolina. Some 250 died in the inland hurricane, the worst since Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in late August 2005. He and others worked near Elizabethton and Poplar, N.C., searching for bodies in the gorge for rescue or recovery along the swollen, fast Nolichucky River.

He and his fellow KCR swift-water team members, plus others, were there for close to two weeks. It was, he says, “his most difficult experience while at KCR for a lot of reasons. Unforgettable.”

He’s been a very valuable part of KCR for a long time. Stephanie Gamble, KCR’s Executive Director who doubles as the captain of the Search and Rescue Team, wrapped this up with thoughts about Rose. “Nick is one of those people you can always count on. Whenever there is a need, he is one of the first to step up and say, ‘I’ll help.’ He brings so much skill and knowledge to our team.”

Tom King is a weekly contributor to KnoxTNToday, where he writes the column Our Town Hero, honoring the service of our first responders. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email Tom using the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.

Enjoyed this article? Read more Our Town Hero columns by Tom King, sponsored by Aubrey’s Restaurants.

Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.

Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our free newsletter. Comments may be sent to news@knoxtntoday.com.