i just got done taking a 8 hour course on sunday that certs. you as a water rescue tech it is good for 5 years . i took this course a few years ago and it just seems to get better. i know everyone is saying i can do this and it is not a big deal to do water rescue. but it is very phscal and you feel it after . the course is offered by a company out new hamphise called lifesaving resoures. check it out if you have water or ice in your responding areas. awsome course and stay safe
What sort of prerequisite training did you have? How can a class be 8 hours and a technician level course in anything? I hope this was a building block on several other classes. Stay safe.
Brooks is right, 8 hours should not be certifying you as a tech (to NFPA standards). Also there are a few different types of water rescue tech levels. Ice Rescue, surf rescue, swift water rescue and dive, almost forgot ice diver and boat operations. Please be aware of limitations, water rescue is very challenging as you already know. But with so many variables an 8 hour course will not prepare you for all the enviroments that are out there.
take a look at the site it is lifesaving resoucres.com. the mam that runs the progam is very good and as we all just traing doesn't make it you need to practice what you learn. i do recommand it if you have a body of water in your area , you can ask him anything and look at the site and what he has to offer. thansk for the reply
Do any of you have water rescue teams?what type are they, and any info ,SOP's would be helpfulespecially traing requirements. My company is trying to form a water rescue team. I just want to make sure we set ourselves up according to our needs. We have some divers , but they don't seem to understand that that is different from surface and swiftwater. There is a not so healthy debate going on within the co. and being one of the few members who have actually been in the water in an emergency situation I just want to do everything we can to be as safe as possible. we cover a group of lakes and two small reivers. then we have a large span of the Delaware river, that has heavy recreational use especially this time of year, but we all know we need to be prepared 24/7/365. Thank you any info would be appreciated
Im new in this forum,im from the Philippines.We have plenty of water in our operational area both sea and freshwater.Since we dont have access to training institutions due to lack of funds,we formulated our own system for water rescue.The basic course is 5 days,it includes among others:drown-proofing,swimming,review of knots and basic rope systems,in-water rescue techniques such as approaches,carries,tows,releases,basic boat handling and safety,and the last is a 1-mile open water swim.
Permalink Reply by DUST on September 1, 2008 at 10:29am
I tried to get my dept. to send me to the Lefesaving Resources instructor class this summer. It is good to know that you recommend the program Joe. I took the 40 hr. Surface Water Rescue Technician class a few months ago and found out just how bad of shape I am in! Hopefully, the class in NH will be in the budget this year.
Permalink Reply by FETC on September 1, 2008 at 10:47am
I highly recommend the Swift Water or Ice Rescue Technician Program from a company called Lifesaving Resources. Gerry Dorwkin and his staff are industry experts. All should check him out.
I am a member of a county search and recovery scuba team. Our team is dispatched whenever there is a water related emergency which has led us to train beyond our original intention. We were formed in 1969 as strictly a rescue and recovery dive team. Over the years we have come to be relied upon for surface water rescue as well as swift water rescue. We are also called upon by local law enforcement agencies to recover evidence for them. Because of this we have had to increase the amount of training we do from dive training to all phases of water rescue as well as scene preservation and evidence recovery. We recently hosted a Rapid Deployment class taught by Lifeguard Systems from Shokan, NY. This was a 40 hour class that not only includes divers but line tenders as well. The class was very demanding but very well put together and very informative. We spent the majority of the class in the water learning search patterns. Obviously there are pre-requisites for this class. The most important one being that you must be a NAUI or PADI certified diver. Tenders do not need to have any certifications but when you finish this class you will bee certified by AIUC plus you can opt to receive the NAUI card as well. If anyone has any questions about this class or would like some information about how to contact Lifeguard Systems, please feel free to ask.