330-02 Water Rescue

Operational Classifications

• Non-Swimmer: Personnel who cannot enter water
• Level I Basic Swimmer: Personnel with basic swimming abilities
• Level I Rescue Swimmer: Personnel with superior swimming abilities and ocean water experience
• Company Officers: Can use Watermanship proficiency evaluation to evaluate abilities
• Swimmer Definition: Level I Basic Swimmer or Level I Rescue Swimmer unless otherwise noted
• Technical Rescue Personnel: Specific training and certifications requirements may apply and supersede standard swimmer qualifications; NFPA 1670 provides baseline guidelines.

Assignments

• Primary Swimmer: Deployed in the water
• Back-up Swimmer: Standby to be deployed
• Spotter: Accountable for a specific deployed swimmer
• Shore Support: Personnel assigned non-water activities (medical, transport, decontamination)
• Victim: Individual needing rescue

Equipment

• All Personnel: Fire Rescue issued PFD or buoyancy compensator with emergency inflation device
• Spotters: Elevated position, reflective vest, binoculars
• Level I Basic Swimmers: Swim attire (no long pants), rescue buoy (red), long blade fins
• Level I Rescue Swimmers: Everything for Level I Basic Swimmer plus water rescue rope, paddle board, short blade fins
• Specialized Equipment (Stations 15, 18, 37, 38, 91): Water rescue paddle board, rescue rope, short blade fins, board shorts, dive light, portable air horn, flare gun, binoculars, marker flags
• Additional Equipment: Depending on incident specifics, additional equipment like specialized life vests, buoyancy aids, or rescue gear might be necessary

General

• Accountability: Assign an Accountability Officer for 2+ swimmers, additional Accountability Officers as needed; 1 spotter per swimmer
• Risk/Benefit Analysis: Assess scene hazards (weather, surf, currents, ingress/egress, swimmer abilities); potentially request Dive Team ahead of time; rescue decision depends on victim viability and personnel risk
• Rescue/Recovery Mode: Rescue Mode is less than 1 hour post-submersion and indicates possible rescue; Recovery Mode, for cases where no rescue is possible (typically transferred to Law Enforcement). Criteria include victim’s location, time since submersion, personnel abilities, witness credibility, and water conditions
• Rescue Mode Operations: Requires Incident Commander and 3+ personnel with necessary capabilities for victim extraction; may deploy swimmer when imminent loss of life
• NFPA 1670 Compliance: Adhere to all relevant sections of NFPA 1670 that pertain to technical water rescue operations.

Scene Size-up

• Victims Above Water: Gather bystander information, determine number of victims, consider additional resources
• Victims Below Water: Establish “Last-Seen-Point”, interview witnesses separately; mark location based on witness statements or possible landmarks, direct swimmer to mark the location with a pelican float; gather victim information (number, clothing, age, swimming ability, time last seen)
• Safety Considerations: Deploy a dive flag (in navigable water or at night), establish a designated work area limiting access to personnel involved in the operation, establish designated entry/exit points for swimmers, ensure proper hand signal use
• NFPA 1670 Considerations: Evaluate the scene for potential hazards, such as underwater currents, unstable shorelines or submerged objects affecting swimmer safety, and refer to appropriate NFPA 1670 guidelines.

Open Water Rescue

• No Unsupervised Underwater Searching: Unless directly witnessed, do not dive below the surface. Refer to SOG 330-03 Dive Rescue
• Rescue Sequence: Talk, reach, throw, row, or go (surface and extraction) – TALK, REACH, THROW, ROW, GO
• Additional Personnel: Minimum 1 Primary Swimmer per victim, 1 Backup Swimmer per Primary Swimmer, 1 Spotter per Primary Swimmer, medical presence, incident safety officer, transport units
• Water Surface Rescue Operations: Utilize water rescue paddle boards or other tools for victim buoyancy and extraction to safety
• NFPA 1670 Considerations: Ensure proper training and equipment selection per NFPA 1670 criteria for open water rescues, factoring in specific water conditions, obstacles, and risks.

Hand Signals

• General Communication: Utilized between swimmer and shore support
• Swimmer to Shore Signals: One arm bent (on head); one arm straight overhead; one arm waving; two arms crossed overhead
• Shore to Swimmer Signals: "I'm Okay", "Assistance Needed", "HELP, DEPLOY BACK-UP SWIMMER!", "Victim Submerged", directions related to vehicle or vessel movement in the water.
• NFPA 1670 Considerations: Refer to NFPA 1670 for standardized hand signals for clarity and safety.

Vehicles/Vessels

• Avoid Submerged Vehicles in Moving Water: Request a Dive Team in these situations
• Submerged Vehicles/Vessels (Still Water): Swimmers do not fully enter vehicles/vessels
• NFPA 1670 Considerations: Evaluate for potential vehicle stability during rescue.

Boat Operations

• Designated Radio Operator: Someone on board the boat handles communication with shore
• GPS Use: Encouraged when available
• NFPA 1670 Considerations: Consideration of the boat's stability and capacity.

Post-Incident

• Decon/Contamination: Follow Fire Rescue SOGs
• After Action Review:
• NFPA 1670 Considerations: Include lessons learned from the rescue in the after-action review to improve future operations.

Additional Actions

• Water Rescue Sequence (Updated): The sequence from the provided plan is TALK, REACH, THROW, ROW, GO. This includes:
  • Phase one: Stabilize the victim(s) using buoyancy aids (paddle boards, rescue buoys, PFDs)
  • Phase two: Extraction to safety (boat, jet ski, shore).
• Extraction: At least one swimmer per victim is required, but more may be needed.
• HELO: Helicopter operations may be requested by the Incident Commander through the Communication Center, who will contact Law Enforcement or Coast Guard.