Fundamentals of Open Water Rescue and Drowning Resuscitation

Monday, April 25, 2022: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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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.

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Methodology

This is a fire-based water rescue workshop focused on preparing professional personnel for rapid intervention during the recovery and resuscitation of a fellow rescuer. This is a hands-on water rescue workshop right from hour one, minute one.

The course will be taught cumulatively by professional open water surf rescue and swift-water rescue lifeguards and mobile intensive care paramedics using the following adult teaching modalities and methodologies. 100% of this workshop will be comprised of: Skills Teaching Stations-

5% High-bred distance learning preparatory review of drowning physiology distributed via Google form to all registrants seven days before FDIC
5% deep water confidence for Code-X missing swimmer search
15% in water defensive tactics and drownproofing
20% in-water components of a rescue USLA curriculum
25% Teaching Simulations, High performance rescue and drowning resuscitation
30% Final Simulations, Drowning mega-code rescue and resuscitation

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the workshop, participants will understand
-the core six components of an open water rescue
-the importance of removing a victim from the water quickly
-aggressive uninterrupted BLS procedures to manage critical hypoxia secondary to drowning
-the attributes needed to lead a high performance resuscitation team
Participants will demonstrate how to
-effect a basic open water rescue in less than desirable situations
-work as part of a high performance resuscitation team

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Handouts

• Hudson,M