ATLANTA — Editor's Note: 11Alive is withholding the county that the firefighter works in since it is not affiliated with the nonprofit.
One local firefighter is spending his summer making sure families enjoying the waters of Lake Lanier are doing so safely.
Alex Birkett, a firefighter and certified safety diver, spends much of his time on the lake. He's even found a way to make money off his unique underwater finds.
"It's a treasure hunt, sometimes, you'll see this under sand, this is sticking up, and you're like, wooooo," Birkett said.
For $150, Birkett will search for your lost items. While operating his business, Wet Recovery Solutions, he's found sunglasses, jewelry and Apple watches at the bottom of the lake.
"One of [the watches] had been down a month and a half and it still worked," he said.
While Birkett finds joy in finding people's valuables, he does the job for another reason -- to help fund his life-saving mission. This charity educates those about the potential risks when traversing Lake Lanier's waters.
"Since 1957 since the lake was flooded there has been 700 deaths. It's the nation’s deadliest lake," Birkett said.
Every time he dives for a lost set of keys or smartwatch, all the profits flow back into the project so that life vests can be provided to families needing them.
"My goal is to pass out as many life vests as possible, and promote and teach as many adults and children as I can that are swimming around here," he said.
Everything he finds goes towards giving families safe memories on the lake to keep and treasure.
"When they see me, I hope they get a big smile on their face and say, you are the man for the job."
For more information about Wet Recovery Solutions, click the link here.