Swiftwater Rescue Capabilities

[T. John 21]

To followup on an earlier post regarding departments that have ice rescue capabilities, how many Departments in the area (CT/Westchester) have swiftwater rescue capabilities? By swiftwater capability I am referring solely to fast moving water (surface) operations (non-ice and non-SCUBA). If your department does, what classification is your team (NIMS resource typing)?

Departments seem to be facing an increased number of "water rescue" emergencies as the result of flash flooding, Nor'easters and other natural weather events. While our Department has ice rescue and SCUBA capabilities, we are starting to expand into swiftwater/flood response operations as well (swiftwater/flood response is very different from the typical ice rescue or SCUBA response). The last few storms have demonstrated a need for such capabilities (both for training and equipment). I am curious to see what other Department's are doing to prepare for such incidents and/or if you already have the capability.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

Not to hijack your thread John, but if there ARE any agencies in Western, CT that have swiftwater teams, I'm looking for one to join. I took the CT Fire Academy's Surface(Swift) Water Operational class, and had argueably a better time than I have in any other class, so if anyone could direct me to a volunteer team, I'd be much obliged.

[JohnnyOV 2]

Yorktown FD had a bunch of members from their dive team take a swift water rescue course. I believe they are in the process of getting certified through the state to become a team.

http://www.yorktownfire.org/content/dive/

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

Our Dive Team has been looking into taking a SWIFTWATER course if we can. If anyone has any info please let me know. I think there was a thread on this last year and I thought that Yorktown FD was hosting a course.

[Beachbum 1]

Our Dive Team has been looking into taking a SWIFTWATER course if we can. If anyone has any info please let me know. I think there was a thread on this last year and I thought that Yorktown FD was hosting a course.

There is a good course up in CT on the Housatanic River taught by Mike McCarthy http://www.appliedrescuetechnique.com/artindx.html Greenburgh Tech Rescue took the course, very good.

[Porsha911gt3 8]

There is a good course up in CT on the Housatanic River taught by Mike McCarthy http://www.appliedrescuetechnique.com/artindx.html Greenburgh Tech Rescue took the course, very good.

I just took the NY State Ice/Cold water rescue class with Mike McCarthy last weekend and I would definitely recommend him. His knowledge and training were excellent. I really learned a lot from him.

[T. John 21]

We are going to be hosting a swiftwater rescue course in the near future (part of our grant award) but I am not sure exactly when at this time. Most likely the fall time frame. I will be sure to post the details here and on our website (www.soundbeachfire.org) once we get the Invitation to Bid out. A handful of our divers took a swiftwater rescue course a few years back but we are hoping to further expand the program with the ultimate goal of meeting the NIMS Type II requirements.

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

Thanks for the info. I will pass it on to my bosses. Hopefully we can get to this class.

[Guest]

Yorktown Fire has been working over the past 18 months to round out its water response capabilities. We now have the ability to effect nearly any imaginable rescue/recovery involving water. We have 15 diving members, all of which are also ice rescue and boat-based operation qualified, and half are swiftwater qualifed. We are in the process of getting the other half qualifed as well. We cover all aspects of the public safety dive world - rescue, salvage and recovery, topographical surveys, etc. Our Unit has been training at least twice a month for the past 2 years and are prepared to respond anywhere in the county if our services can be of use.

[T. John 21]

Yorktown Fire has been working over the past 18 months to round out its water response capabilities. We now have the ability to effect nearly any imaginable rescue/recovery involving water. We have 15 diving members, all of which are also ice rescue and boat-based operation qualified, and half are swiftwater qualifed. We are in the process of getting the other half qualifed as well. We cover all aspects of the public safety dive world - rescue, salvage and recovery, topographical surveys, etc. Our Unit has been training at least twice a month for the past 2 years and are prepared to respond anywhere in the county if our services can be of use.

Great job on getting your team so far. I trained not too long ago with your team with the Dive Rescue 1 program and I can attest that you have a very committed, highly motivated team. I hope to work with your team again soon someday. Glad to see that you are expanding into swiftwater too - that is something that many departments do not consider when evaluating their water rescue risks.

[MoFire390 118]

thanks porsha.

You dont know when his next class would be do you? and I am intreased in taking the swiftwater rescue class as well.

[Beachbum 1]

thanks porsha.

You dont know when his next class would be do you? and I am intreased in taking the swiftwater rescue class as well.

If you get a group of people together he will teach a class specifically for you. But check his website he may have some dates probably in the spring or summer.

[Porsha911gt3 8]

thanks porsha.

You dont know when his next class would be do you? and I am intreased in taking the swiftwater rescue class as well.

I took the class through NY state OFPC, he is a state instructor. As far as the classes that are offered through his company "ART," I do not know his schedule but he did mention that he is booked well through March. Try contacting him.

[JetPhoto 626]

How many swiftwater teams are thier in the Southern Hudson Valley? Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Ulster?

[SageVigiles 1,194]

This topic is frighteningly well timed, with the events in Brewster today being what they were.

[Guest]

Great topic....Here is food for thought, operationally. You use RIT/FAST teams for fires, haz-mat, etc. Why not on the water?? We asked ourselves that same question. We asked our M/A depts the same question. We all agreed that when we are operating on the river, we (as in all of us) need to have a rapid intervention boat in the water down stream as a safety. The sole purpose of the boat is rescuer safety.

Be safe....go home.

Bill

[T. John 21]

Great topic....Here is food for thought, operationally. You use RIT/FAST teams for fires, haz-mat, etc. Why not on the water?? We asked ourselves that same question. We asked our M/A depts the same question. We all agreed that when we are operating on the river, we (as in all of us) need to have a rapid intervention boat in the water down stream as a safety. The sole purpose of the boat is rescuer safety.

Bill, I agree with you 100%. As with any emergency operation, it is imperative that you have the appropriate amount of personnel and other resources on hand. This includes your backup team(s). Water rescue operations (whether surface or dive) can go south in a matter of seconds. In diving, for instance, you may not know what hazards there are in the water (fishing line to name one). Having a backup team ready (consisting of your strongest and most experienced members) is critical. Most dive teams have (or should have) SOPs dictating the minimum number of divers on-scene before beginning an operation (primary, backup and 90% ready). The same should apply for surface operations as well.

This is the main reason I started this discussion. We need to know what our resources are and be willing to call them when we need them. Of equal importance is training with other teams BEFORE an incident occurs. If you call in another team as your "backup" you want to ensure that they have the appropriate training, skills, equipment and resources to back you up.

We must also keep in mind of our resources in adjoining States (our team is in Greenwich and can quickly respond over the line - we have before). It is also a great opportunity for teams to meet, discuss resources and some type of standardization (if you are relying on another team for backup, you want to ensure they know what type of equipment you have). Teams must also take a careful look at the NIMS resource typing guidelines as this is a good model to follow (and required for any type of EMAC activation). If we all know each other's capabilities and train together (we train on tanker shuttle operations, lets train on water operations), this can greatly help in the event of an emergency.

[MoFire390 118]

thanks guys.

[Guest bigdogPRFD]

Rockland County has a highly trained swiftwater rescue team in Stony Point (Dept 18 ). They can be contacted through Chief Adam Fueur as either 18-1 or at 44-Control as Chief Operator. He can supply you with contact numbers and names as necessary. If he is not available, please contact me and I can put in contact with someone else on the team. BigdogPRFD@optonline.net.