Welcome to
Still Water Rescue
Operation Level
Training
The Goal of this class:
• Ensure personal safety during water
emergency operation.
• Identify all possible hazards.
• Fully utilize all witnesses.
• Conduct shore-based rescue operations
What Equipment do
we use?
Recues Tube
Datum Point
Surface Water
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Fact Sheet
2/3 of the earth is water
½ the earths population will enter the water each year
#1 outdoor recreation is water activities
#2 cause of accidental deaths for people under 44 is drowning
#3 cause of accidental deaths for all people is drowning
About 5,000 drownings are reported each year
Men drown 4X more than women
13% of all drownings are 4 years of age or younger
Most drownings occur within 10 ft of safety and 50ft of shore
2 out of 3 drowning victims are non swimmers
10% of drowngs occur at guarded pools and beaches
60% in rual lakes, ponds, streams, and water holes
30% occur at home
The longest time for submersion with complete recovery was 66 min. (June , 1986, in Salt
Lake City, Utah)
Signs of a Distressed
Swimmer
• struggling
• keeping head barely out of the water
• submerging uncontrollably
• gasping, fixed eyes
• time in the water for weather conditions
and water temp.
• You will NOT see: Hollywood style of
arm splashing, yelling “I’m Drowning!!””
Scene Management
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Size Up
Set Zones
• Hot - In the Water
• Warm- 10ft from Shore, PFD required, Utilize scene tape
• Cold- Beyond the scene tape
Establish Command
Determine Rescue Swimmers
Isolate Witnesses
Active Rescue
Make a Plan
Locate Victim
Call for Resources
• Extra Eng. Co.
• Dive Team- Mercer Island, Renton, King County Sheriff
• Local PD for crowd control
• Chaplin(s)
Witnesses Utilization
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Separate the witnesses to the locations last seen.
Use triangulation for possible datum point.
Do not allow witnesses to compare stories
Location of witness last seen victim (mark with cones)
Time victim last seen
What did they look like (swim ability, age, gender, clothes)
How deep was the water
Was victim alone?
How long have they been missing?
Your calmness is the name of the game!
Triangulation
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Have the witness go to the same location and position
they were in when they saw the victim last.
Place cone at that location until incident is terminated
to the end.
Have witness find a fixed object beyond that point for
you to see. Document location so it can be used for
datum point placement.
Do this with as many witnesses as you can so rescue
swimmers can place datum points for possible search
sites.
Always remember to also do on-shore searches.
Active Rescue of Visible Victims
Things to consider…
• First on Scene, One on shore(IC) and
two rescue swimmers
• When rescue swimmers approach Pt. in
water, one swimmer affects recue while
other acts as back up.
• Initiate a surface water rescue
• Pt. exam
• Incident termination
Surface Water Rescue
of Non-Visible Victims
• Size Up
• Zones
• Implement the ICS
• Conduct a Risk/Benefit Analysis
• Primary Assessment
• Secondary Assessment
• Resource Assessment
Cont...
• Site control and Scene Mgt.
• Assist Rescue Divers, other resources
• EMS
• Incident Termination
Safety First!
- Pre-plan
- PPE
- Size UP
- Equipment
- IC
- Communication
- Safety off.
ability
- Personal swimming
- Hazards
Personal Safety
• How deep is too deep?
• When was the last time you went
swimming? Do you know your limits?
• Do you know what to expect from a
panicked person in the water?
• Operations level can go into the water up
to their waist with a PFD!
Operations Level PPE
• Minimum, type 3 USCG PFD
• with light and whistle
• No bunker gear!
Types of Thermal
Protection:
Size Up
• What do you have?
• What is your plan?
• What do you need?
• What are you doing?
Factors for Size Up:
• Safety
• Location & number of victims
• With or without flotation
• Distance from shore
• # of victims on surface poss. under water
• Hazards
• Risk/Benefit, Rescue vs Recovery
Hazards
• Weather
• Bridges
• Docks
• Temp.
Bottom conditions
Submerged objects
Boat traffic
Water
Reaching Assist
Throwing Assist
Human Chain
Linear search
Half Circle Search
Boats/PWC
Victim Removal
• Victim packaging for water
rescue
• Info. needed
• Neck and back injuries
• Rapid extraction
What can Operations Level
do?
• Use PFD’s
• Get info./witnesses/cones/Datum Points
• Reach and Throw Assist
• set up ICS
• Set up zones
• Set up equipment
• EMS
• Assist Rescue Swimmers/Divers
Your Typical Rescue:
• You are first at scene
• Grab all your water rescue stuff/PFD’s
• Make contact with family/witnesses
• What do you have? What do you need?
• Is the victim seen or underwater?
• What can you safely do?
• Separate witnesses and find Datum
Points
• Use cones, give info., asst. Rescue
Swimmers
Questions?
Please contact one of your shift instuctors:
A shift: Tom Craig/Jeff Storey
B shift: Mark Vetter/Steve Williams
C shift: Kyle Wood/TomTull