*** Ice/Cold Water Rescue Protocols *** Mon Nov 6 05:11:11 1995 Message : #34328899 From: Richard Loebel Address : fa695@CLEVELAND.FREENET.EDU Length : 4421 bytes Subject : Re: Ice/cold water rescue > From: dhowland > > We are in the infancy of developing a water rescue team. Anyone with > recommendations, experience, or just general knowledge of how we might > develop is begged to assist us. Among the prior listing of resources, you might want to contact your State Office of Fire Prevention (or the equivalent, usually falls under the Department of State) to see if any training might be available on a state level, either through an "outreach" program or at your states' Fire Academy. I had the opportunity to get my training through the state and used that information during the formation of my Depts'. cold water team. The number of equipment vendors is varied, but we finally selected Dive Rescue out in Colorado, phone # 1 800 248 3483, ask for Mary Turner. They had the best deal on equipment packages at the time, but were a little skimpy onthe rope quantity. I still question the use of "ice picks" (where do you put the darn things so they don't puncture the suit?) and hind-sight would have had me buy the darn flippers since we needed them during one of our calls early last spring. When we realized that we needed more rope I found R.E.I. Inc. (commercial accounts, 1-800-258-4567) they were selling NFPA approved rope at a cost well below any-one else I could find. We currently pack 700' of rope, and given the size of our largest lake, I would love to buy some more. There are little strobe lights that can get attached to your bump helmets. While they make you look a little strange, they give your I.C. and safety officer great piece of mind, as now people on shore can tell where you are during night calls (and all of our calls so far have happened at dusk/night). If you properly lite the area from shore, you'll find little need for hand held flash lights, IMHO, as they tend to get in your way. I've felt that low angle lighting tends to "skim" the surface of the ice enough to allow you to get to the victim. Different conditions demand different lighting and "Light Box" brand flash lights also work well as they come with a shoulder strap and can be placed on the ice and illuminate the work area. Besides the small tid-bits above, the only other advise I can offer comes in a one word sentence: PRACTICE! When you get your gear and SOPs' in line, go somewhere private and practice. Do it again and again until everyone understands the principles fully and knows what the other guy is about to do. Then do it at night, when it's snowing, the middle of the day over open water. Find the worst conditions possible (yes, keep it safe) and drill some more. All things beue teams. All I had to do was issue assignments and then I got to watch the fruit of all our drills mature into a well run evolution. O.K., now you've got the team able to read each others' mind. Done yet? Not quite. A cold water rescue is not going to happen with just the F.D. around. Our SOPs' call for 1) ALS support 2) Law Enforcement support 3) Advanced equipment from D.E.C. (an air-boat) 4) Air transport if needed. You may opt for some other agencies to get involved also. DRILL WITH THEM! Our first call went FUBAR so fast it made the I.C.'s head spin because no one knew what to expect, or what was expected of them. As a result, incoming mutual aid agencies assumed they were called in to provide command. In our area, F.D. controls the scene, period. Patient care is transferred to ALS as soon as the patient hits shore. We don't do pt. care, never have. As soon as the pt. is in a safe location, then EMS takes over. Our SOP's call for LEO's to provide scene security and other law enforcement type duties. When I.C., and all other agencies agree that a viable rescue is no longer possible, recovery responsibility goes to the police. Once all the agencies involved understand their responsibilities, and have had an opportunity to practice these responsibilities, you now have the makings of a cold water rescue team. Above all, be safe! Rich -- Richard Loebel "Put the wet stuff on 2nd Assistant Chief the red stuff"-Anon Training Officer Cossayuna V.F.D, Cossayuna, N.Y. fa695@Cleveland.Freenet.edu (Richard Loebel) ------------------------------------