1. Water Rescue Awareness
Pasco Fire Department
Water Rescue Awareness

2. Objectives: Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Recognize the need for water search and rescue based upon the complexity of the incident
Define and implement the assessment phase of the operation
Identify the resources necessary to conduct safe and effective water operations
Implement site control and scene management
Recognize the general hazards associated with water incidents and the procedures necessary to mitigate these hazards within the general search and rescue area
Determine rescue or recovery profile(S)
Pasco Fire Department
Water Rescue Awareness

3. NFPA 1670 Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Search and Rescue Incidents
Pasco Fire Department
9.2.3 Organizations operating at the awareness level at water search and rescue incidents shall implement procedures for the following:
Recognizing the need for water search and rescue
Implementing the assessment phase
Identifying the resources necessary to conduct safe and effective water operations
Implementing site control and scene management
Recognizing general hazards associated with water incidents and the procedures necessary to mitigate these hazards within the general search and rescue area
Determining rescue versus body recovery
The assessment phase is defined by NFPA – The process of assessing the conditions, the scene, and the subject’s condition and ability to assist in his or her own rescue. (Size Up)
Water Rescue Awareness

4. Pasco Fire Department WAC 296-305 Water Rescue Awareness 296-305-05101
Written standard operating procedures shall be established consistent with the following levels:
Awareness Level – This level represents the minimum capability of organizations that provide response to technical rescue incidents
Training shall be provided to correspond to the operational level of the fire department. All fire departments shall be trained to the awareness level; members which will be expected to perform at a higher operational level shall be trained to that level.
(5)
Organizations choosing to operate at the awareness, operations or technician level for water rescue incidents must meet the requirements of this section and the nonconflicting portions of chapter 9 of the 2009 edition of NFPA 1670, Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Rescue Incidents.
(ii) All employees involved in water rescue shall be trained in water rescue techniques and wear Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices, Type III, minimum.
Pasco Fire Department
Water Rescue Awareness

5. Standard Operating Guideline’s
Pasco Fire Department
Standard Operating Guideline’s
Pasco Fire Department
– Water Search and Rescue
This SOG shall apply to all Pasco Fire Department personnel responding to and operating within a Water Rescue Incident or Training Environment.
– Personal Floatation Devices and Personnel Safety involving water incidents
This guideline is established to meet the intent and requirements of water rescue as defined by WAC (5)(a) and Chapter 9 of the 2009 edition of NFPA 1670 Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Search and Rescue Incidents
Water Rescue Awareness

6. Pasco Fire Department Definitions Water Rescue Awareness
Awareness Level Actions taken by the responders at the Awareness Level are defensive in nature and should pose no risk, or a low level of risk to the responder. This level represents the minimum capability of organizations that provide response to technical rescue incidents.
Operational Level Actions taken at the Operational Level are of limited offensive nature and generally at a low or moderate risk to the responder. This level represents the capability of organizations to respond to technical rescue incidents and to identify hazards, use equipment, and apply limited techniques to support and participate in technical rescue incidents.
Technical Level Actions taken by the responders are offensive in nature and may pose a high level of risk. This level represents the capability of organizations to respond to technical rescue incidents, to identify hazards, use equipment, and apply advanced techniques specified to coordinate, perform, and supervise technical rescue incidents.
Pasco Fire Department
NFPA 1670 Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Search and Rescue Incidents A – In all types of search and rescue incidents, the potential exists for extenuating circumstances that would require expertise beyond the normal capability of the organization to operate safety. Examples of these situations include, but are not limited to, the following:
(5) Water Search and Rescue – Depth, current, water movement, water temperature extremes, or severe environmental conditions (e.g., snow and rain)
Water Rescue Awareness

7. Water Rescue Size Up Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Scope, Magnitude, and nature of the incident (complexity)
Location and number of victims
Risk/Benefit Analysis
Separation, isolation, security, and interviewing of witnesses
Hazards – disrupted or exposed utilities, standing or flowing water, mechanical hazards, hazmat, explosives
Access to the scene
Environmental Factors
Resource assessment
Rescue/Recovery
Water Rescue Awareness

8. Water Rescue Incident Complexity
Operations Level – is determined by
The method of victim entrapment
Operations are conducted only from the shore
-or-
Are conducted from any watercraft used by the organization
Pasco Fire Department
Technician Level – is determined by
Any water rescue in which technical rope skills are needed
Operations in which the rescuer must enter the water
The complexity levels are determined by NFPA 1670 sections and 9.4.9
Water Rescue Awareness

9. Examples Include: Rivers, Streams, Canals, Pools, Lakes, Gravel Pits,
Surface Water
Pasco Fire Department
Examples Include: Rivers, Streams,
Canals, Pools, Lakes, Gravel Pits,
Storm Drain Systems
Water Rescue Awareness

10. Incident Causes……….Most Likely
Pasco Fire Department
Changes in Weather
Overconfidence
No Personal Floatation Device(s)
Cramps
Submerged Debris
Collision of watercraft
Most incidents are preventable – many are caused by simply under-estimating the situation.
Water Rescue Awareness

11. Swift Water Pasco Fire Department
Water that is moving at a rate greater than one knot [1.85 km/hr (1.15 mph)] – NFPA
Some Parts of the Yakima River
Columbia and Snake Rivers
Some Irrigation Canals
Water Rescue Awareness

12. Water Hazards
Pasco Fire Department
Water Rescue Awareness

13. Hydraulics Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Water weighs 62 pounds per cubic foot. Mass obeys the laws of physics, moving water has tremendous energy. A knowledgeable rescuer will be able to “read” the water and predict with reasonable certainty where the dangers lie.
Water Rescue Awareness

14. Eddy Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness Eddy
An eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle.
Pasco Fire Department
Eddy
The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object. Fluid behind the obstacle flows into the void creating a swirl of fluid on each edge of the obstacle, followed by a short reverse flow of fluid behind the obstacle flowing upstream.
Water Rescue Awareness

15. Outwash/Backwash Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness Boil
Line
Outwash
Backwash
Water Rescue Awareness

16. Current Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Slower moving water tends to be at the outside of the channel and on the downstream side of the bend.
Water moving down a gradient responds to the configuration of the channel in predictable ways
Slower moving water tends to be at the bottom water layer of the channel.
Water Rescue Awareness

17. Water Temperature Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
The Body cannot maintain its temperature in water that is less than 92 degrees F.
Heat loss occurs 25 times faster in water than in air
Immersion often leads to hypothermia
Pasco Fire Department
Hypothermia can lead to
The inability to self-rescue
The inability to follow simple instructions
The inability to grasp a line or floatation device
A sudden immersion may lead to laryngospasm or drowning. Research completed in 2007 to determine the impact of hypothermia in swift water rescue situations found that water between degrees F resulted in an 8% fatality rate due to hypothermia. In water under 59 degrees F, 40% of accidents were fatal and the risk of death significantly increases with lower temperatures.
60% of boaters die in water between 50 and 68 degrees F.
Water Rescue Awareness

18. Strainers Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Partial Obstructions that filter water
Downed trees, gratings, mesh
Creates unequal force across itself
People become pinned by the waters force
Pasco Fire Department
Have the victim attempt to swim over the object
DO NOT put your feet on the bottom of the channel
Water Rescue Awareness

19. Low Head Dams Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness Dangers
Low Head Dams are control structures used on channels. They partially block the waterway and “back up” the water behind them. They are self-regulating and allow water to just spill over the top as levels increase.
Pasco Fire Department
Dangers
Strong current just beyond the downstream face of the dam
Water flow is recirculating (which drops down sharply down the face of the dam, rises, then returns to the face of the dam as a backwash – and quickly drops down again.
PFD’s will not provide sufficient flotation to prevent the user from being drawn under
Water Rescue Awareness

20. Obstructions Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
An up stream V pattern flow usually indicates the presence of an obstruction or submerged hazard.
Water Rescue Awareness

21. Undercuts Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Undercuts are usually found along steep or vertical banks. Current flows faster in undercuts.
Water Rescue Awareness

22. Underwater Hazards Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Underwater hazards can range from natural (submerged trees, channel bed plants, etc.), to biological (fish, sea life) to man-made (see above). Many of the hazards could be classified as strainers (water will go through, but people will not). Entanglement or entrapment are common rescue problems with submerged hazards.
Water Rescue Awareness

23. Contamination Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Water pollution and contamination is said to be the leading cause of illness world wide. In the United States, it has been reported that 45% of assessed stream miles, 47% of assessed lake acres, and 32% of assessed bay and estuarine square miles are classified as polluted.
There are three categories of water pollution:
Point source pollution – contaminants that enter a waterway through a discrete conveyance, such as a ditch or a pipe.
Non-point source pollution – diffuse contamination that does not originate from a discrete source
Groundwater pollution – a spill of contaminant on soil which may not create point or non-point source pollution, but may contaminate the aquifer below.
Water Rescue Awareness

24. Turbidity Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Turbidity is a measure of the degree to which the water loses its transparency due to the presence of suspended particulates.
Pasco Fire Department
Causes of Turbidity –
Phytoplankton
Sediments from soil or bank erosion
Resuspended sediment from the bottom of the channel
Waste discharge
Algae growth
Urban Runoff
Turbid water indicates less visibility to dive team members and less ability to locate underwater hazards. It also indicates the need for decontamination.
Water Rescue Awareness

25. Identify Last Seen Victim Location
Pasco Fire Department
If the victim cannot be seen on the surface of the water, we need to identify a Last Seen Point (LSP) to assist Dive Rescue Technicians.
Water Rescue Awareness

26. Identify Last Seen Victim Location
Pasco Fire Department
Identify the number of witnesses and victims.
Separate the witnesses and interview them from the spot that they last saw the victim.
Attempt to “Triangulate” the location. This will be the initial search area.
Water Rescue Awareness

27. Basic Rescue Techniques
REACH
Pasco Fire Department
Outreached arm, leg or other tool
Yell clear, simple instructions to the victim
Ensure that you have firm footing
Do not enter the water any deeper than knee-depth
Remember that the victim is under duress and may pull the rescuer into the water
Water Rescue Awareness

28. Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness THROW
This type of rescue employs throw rope bags, life rings, and floats.
This type of rescue is only effective if the subject is cooperative.
Give clear and simple commands to the subject.
Remember that the victim is under duress and may pull the rescuer into the water.
Water Rescue Awareness

29. Rescue Communications
Whistle Commands
1 Blast = Stop and Look at me
2 Blasts = Begin the action that we agreed upon or is indicated
3 Blasts = I need help
Pasco Fire Department
Arm Signals
One arm raised = need help or pay attention
One hand on top of head = I am OK
Rope Signals
1 tug OK
2 tugs Advance
3 tugs Take up slack
4 tugs Help
Water Rescue Awareness

30. Rescue vs. Recovery Factors to consider: Pasco Fire Department
Time Submerged
Age
Physical Condition
Known/Suspected Trauma
Water Temperature
Estimated Time for Rescue/Removal
Water Rescue Awareness

31. Command and Control Pasco Fire Department Water Rescue Awareness
Arrival, Size Up, and Initiate/Establish Command
Recognize that this incident may extend beyond the initial operational period
An IAP may need to be developed
Determine Incident Complexity
Operational – can the rescue be affected from the shore? If not you are in a technical rescue situation. Call for the resources.
Technical – Prepare to support Dive Operations (Secure Boat Launch, Have EMS supplies readily available, prepare for decontamination)
Identify and Secure General Hazards
Electrical Utilities
Gas, propane, fuel oil, other alternative energy sources
Water Size Up (Temperature, hazards)
Communications
Identify and Secure Personal Hazards
Trips, slips, falls, etc.
PFD’s
Identify Hazards that are Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health
Swift water situations with currents exceeding those in which a person or watercraft can safely operate
Secure the general area
Controlling/limiting access to the area by unnecessary personnel
Locate, Identify. Secure and Interview Witnesses
Identify the LSP (Last Seen Point)
Pasco Fire Department
Water Rescue Awareness

32. Uh Oh
Pasco Fire Department
Water Rescue Awareness

33. Pasco Fire Department