developing water rescue team

[gyver]

i need help getting a water rescue team started. we are a volunteer dept. and are looking at ways to get the funds for a rescue boat, equipment and training. we have 3 major lakes, the miss. river and numerous oxbows and breaks in our county and many more in surrounding counties. our mutual aid counties don't have a boat either so we were planning on aiding them if needed. any ideas on funding, training, or input of any kind that would be helpful and is greatly appreciated.
we started our year off with 2 drownings in 1 week. our community is real big into water sports and waterfowl hunting so we definitely have a need.


asst. chief jerry mills
bobo fire dept.
bobo, ms.

[LWO]

Hi Chief Mills,

From a swiftwater team leader the best advice that I can give to a department that wants to start a team is to attend a swiftwater rescue class that meets NFPA 1670. This class will expose you to specialized techniques and equipment that will be the basis on which you purchase equipment for your organization. If I can be of further help let me know.

[Firescueguy]

Chief, since a boat is a rather big expense, consider this piece of equipment which will allow your team to get started & do a lot of good with too much of an investment.

The RESCUE RETRIEVER is a unique rescue tool that allows land based water & ice rescues from over 100' away WITHOUT the need to place rescuers directly in the water/on ice. It can be deployed using just 2 rescuers & only needs 1 rescuer to "steer" it into place (great for limited manpower ops). It can be used in lakes, ponds, fast moving water (floats on water surface) & ice, can "dredge" below the water surface AND can be extended up to 400' feet before loss of dexterity begins!! Practical accessories such as a "snare" allow you to gain a secure grip on a victim even if they are hypothermic or injured & unable to hang on. Best of all, it's easy to use, requires minimal training (not designed as a substitute for properly trained & equipped rescuers but rather as another tool in their arsenal) AND it is highly cost effective!!

Want to see more...go to www.fire-rescueoutfitters.com and click on the Water Rescue link. Any questions, click the e-mail link.

Hope this helps you out. Good luck with getting your team financed, trained & online. As I said above, proper training & equipment are paramount - our safety must come first before anyone else. Stay Safe.

[Firediver]

Contact Dive Rescue International or Lifegaurd Systems for Public Safety Diving. Contact Rescue 3 for swiftwater/river rescue. Get all the training you can, as the water is an unforgiving mistress. Please contact me by email for further info if needed.:D

[BLSboy]

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[mfdfiredogg]

I am a member of two different dive rescue teams. One for a career dept. and one for a volunteer dept. Recently I was presented the chance to go to a swiftwater rescue course. This was put on by the Indiana River Rescue School out of South Bend, Indiana. Having already had dive training and experience I had thought that this would not be anything tough going through a swiftwater course. However I found out that these are two completely different areas. My recommendation to you chief, is to separate water rescue into two areas.... moving water and still water. Get people trained in both areas. Padi is a very well organized scuba diver certification organization and i'm sure it is in your area. There are also other scuba organizations out there but I am familiar with padi so that is what I personaly recommend. Tell them what you are wanting to do and they will help you with all the training you will need for a still water dive rescue/recovery. For moving water I recommend the Indiana River Rescue School. You can contact Chief Jim Lopez of the South Bend Fire dept. in South Bend, IN. You can also find out information about the school and what it involves on the internet. I hope this helps and I wish you good luck in starting a water rescue team.

[afd105]

Our county just recently got a dive team, and we were looking for a boat. We checked with law enforcement agencies to see if they had seized a boat of some sort. It just so happened that a sheriff's department had a boat they were willing to let the dive team use. I suggest you ask around for things like that or some private funding os some sort. If al else fails apply for a grant more than likely you can get a little help from federal and state funding.

[H2oAirRsQ]

Re: Grant Information

Be creative.

Nautica recently donated a 22 foot drop-bow RHIB, complete with a 125 HP motor to us. All we had to do was rig the electronics and deck it out.
The best advice is not to restrict yourself to government grants.
There are numerous private grants available out there. We just received another sizable contribution from a local business toward our airboat program.
It is not easy and you may have to kiss a lot of toads before you find a prince, but it is worth the effort. I would think that with your department's notoriety getting a donation would not be a problem.
When approaching potential donors, sell them on your exposure in the publications and on your website. You have had some great coverage, use it to your advantage. Also, be sure to describe your past successful water rescues and any media coverage that you have had that covered those events. Remember, pictures are the best. If some company is going to donate you a $35,000 - $50,000 piece of equipment they will want to see their name out in the public.
In addition, when looking for grants, do not confine yourself strictly to "fire" related grants. Look at your state EMS grants, Dept. of Natural Resources grants, Dept. of Forestry, Dept. of Aquatic Management, the state's Dept. of Health. Again, be creative! You will be surprised how what you are trying to do will tie into some state department's agenda.
You may even contact your state university. Someone there may be doing a research project on freshwater submersion, near drowning, hypothermia and brain death that may be willing to donate a boat to your department.
I just gave you a full semester's lesson in Grantsmanship 101.
The bottom line is, the money is out there.
BE CREATIVE! If you do not ask, you do not get.
Best of luck.

Robert :cool:

[H2oAirRsQ]

Ideally, a good vessel for rescue operations is one that requires no established launch site for deployment, has sufficient carrying capacity to deliver rescue personnel and equipment, with amble storage space.
The vessel should have sufficient horsepower to execute rescue missions in an expediate manner, have a flat bottom (unless used in seas greater than 3-4 feet) and a non-submerged (above water) propulsion system that is not hampered by submerged debris, rocks or shallow water and is stable in torrent water.
In addition, if you are going to use the boat(s) for flood rescue operations, it should be capable of removing evacuees without subjecting them to the elements and the contaminents contained in flood waters,
Yes, such a vessel does exist and it is called an airboat. Airboats are used extensively in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Nebraska on the Platt River, and throughout the Mid-west and Northeast for ice-rescue operations.
If you are interested in learning more about airboats and rescue operations type: "airboat, rescue, fire department, flooding" into your search engine. You may be surprised at what pops up.
Robert :cool:

[JRFireman]

My department went to another department to get some basic water rescue training. Although I don't remember what it was called, their device worked as follows.

The device (which was collapsable), after beingunfolded, and having the proper pieces secured worked like this. There were two ontoon type things, one on each side. There was a metal bar running from one to the other at the front and rear of the device. A railing type thing came up from each of the pontoons. On these railings was a harness, attached one side to each pontoon. This would be rapped around the victim, and then the victim would be pulled up to the top of the railing, pulled to the back, such that they would be mostly on the device. The rescuer on the device would then call back to the other rescures on land, who would pull the device back to sure.