Fundamentals of Open Water Rescue and Drowning Resuscitation

Description

Over the past few decades, the fire service has seen a major uptick in water rescue incidents. The modern-day firefighter is often placed in a position to effect aquatic rescue in dangerous waters and austere conditions with little training and even less real-time experience. This class is skills intensive and will provide a fundamental review, through hands-on practice, of the most current water rescue procedures and resuscitation methods employed by U.S. ocean/river rescue specialists. Participants will move through several water-based skills teaching stations in the morning, culminating with a series of realistic rescue scenarios during the second half of the day. As participant proficiency increases, so will the severity of the scenarios involving distressed civilians, submersed victims, and incapacitated rescue divers. Each scenario is meant to simulate situations that create common physical stressors associated with effecting a real water rescue along with the psychological factors associated with a worst-case scenario. High-performance resuscitation will be practiced throughout the course, with both fatal and nonfatal outcomes. Attendees will be in and out of the water all day, which requires them to have basic heads-up swimming ability and applicable functional fitness. Rookie and veteran water rescue technicians who complete the class will return to service better prepared to safely effect open water rescue and aggressively resuscitate those who have drowned. Prerequisite fitness and technical ability: Because this is a specialty course in water rescue aimed at personnel serving in that capacity, students must already have a relevant level of modern technical water rescue training. They must also have the physical conditioning and technical skill to swim short distances in both the head-up and head-down position, without the aid of a rescue flotation device or life jacket. They must also be comfortable swimming underwater or being submerged for at least five seconds. Although the use of goggles or a dive mask during some of the teaching evolutions will be allowed, students must be able to effect a water rescue without them during the final scenarios.

Note: Wetsuits are optional for the course; students won't really need them in the pool. Rash guards, however, will protect against abrasions and nicks from equipment during hands-on rescue skills practice. Rash guards are also suggested for female participants, as they protect the tops of bathing suits from coming off during the drown proofing and water confidence module. Open-water surface rescue ops require proper water rescue fins. Dive fins just do not work on the fly. 75% of lifeguard rescue teams use  DaFin swim fins,  as you can walk forward in them, making them ideal for rock and jetty rescues. However, any surf rescue swim fin that is ambidextrous with bottom drain plugs and a nonadjustable solid rubber heel strap will work too.  DuckFeet can be used as dive fins too. SuckFeet swim fins and Viper rescue fins are also great for both dive and surface water rescue.