Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Water Rescue PDF SOG 330-02 2018

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Standard Operating Guideline SOG 330-02 Water Rescue Issue Date:05/21/2018...

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Standard Operating Guideline SOG 330-02 Water Rescue Issue Date:05/21/2018 Effective Date: 06/21/2018 PURPOSE: To establish guidelines for entry and rescue in the Atlantic Ocean, Intracoastal Waterway, lakes, canals, and any other open bodies of water. AUTHORITY:  Fire Rescue Administrator  NFPA 1670, Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Rescue Incidents SCOPE: This standard operating guideline shall apply to all Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Emergency Operations personnel. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A: Swim Hand Signals PROCEDURE: These guidelines provide a basic framework for most water related incidents involving a water rescue operation prior to a Dive Teams arrival. 1. Operational Classifications a. Non-Swimmer – Fire Rescue personnel who do not swim and shall not enter the water. b. Level I Basic Swimmer – Fire Rescue personnel possessing basic swimming abilities. c. Level I Rescue Swimmer – Fire Rescue personnel possessing superior swimming abilities and experience in ocean water. d. Company Officers may use the Watermanship proficiency evaluation (330-03 Attachment E) to evaluate swimming abilities. e. For the remainder of this SOG, “swimmer” shall be in reference to Fire Rescue personnel classified as either a Level I Basic Swimmer or Level I Rescue Swimmer, unless otherwise specifically noted. f. Refer to SOG 330-03 Dive Rescue for Dive Teams and additional information. 2. Assignments a. Primary Swimmer – a swimmer who is deployed in the water. b. Back-up Swimmer – a swimmer who is on stand-by to be deployed. c. Spotter – a designated Fire Rescue personnel who is assigned to be accountable for a specific deployed swimmer. SOG 330-02 Water Rescue Page 1 of 6  d. Shore Support personnel – Fire Rescue personnel assigned to non-water activities. (i.e., Medical, Transport, Decon., etc…). e. Victim – an individual who requires rescue. f. Refer to SOG 100-02 Daily Assignments for Daily Shift Preparations. 3. Equipment a. Shore Support personnel shall don a Fire Rescue issued Personal Flotation Device (PFD) or buoyancy compensator with emergency inflation device. b. To maintain a clear line-of-sight with deployed swimmers, Spotters should: i. Be on an elevated position (i.e., a sand dune, hose-bed of an Engine, etc…) ii. Be wearing a reflective vest iii. Have binoculars accessible c. Level I Basic Swimmers should have the following equipment: i. Swim attire (swimmers shall not be deployed in long pants) ii. A rescue buoy (Red Flotation Device) iii. Long blade fins d. Level I Rescue Swimmers should have the following equipment: i. Level I Basic Swimmer plus; ii. Water rescue rope iii. Water rescue paddle board iv. Short blade fins e. In addition to the standard equipment the following water rescue equipment shall be available at Fire Rescue Stations 15, 18, 37, 38, and 91: i. Water rescue paddle board ii. Water rescue rope iii. Short blade fins iv. Board shorts v. Dive light vi. Portable air horn vii. Flare gun viii. Binoculars ix. Marker flags 4. General a. Fire Rescue personnel should refer to the 200 series SOGs for all Incident Management System, Communication and Accountability related needs. b. Accountability i. In cases of 2 or more swimmers, an Accountability Officer shall be assigned. ii. Additional Accountability Officers should be assigned as needed. iii. A one (1) to one (1) ratio of Spotter to swimmer is required. c. Risk/Benefit Analysis: i. Arriving Companies shall assess the scene and identify hazards (weather, surf conditions, currents, ingress, egress, swimmer abilities, traffic, leaking vehicle fluids, and submerged objects). SOG 330-02 Water Rescue Page 2 of 6  ii. Responding units or the Communication Center may request a Dive Team response prior to arrival due to information received or the length of response times. iii. The decision to send Fire Rescue personnel into the water shall be based on the chance to rescue a viable victim and the risk to Fire Rescue Personnel. 5. Mode of Operation: a. The Incident Commander or first in unit shall determine if the emergency is in a Rescue or Recovery Mode. i. Generally, Rescue Mode is in the window of less than one (1) hour from submersion. Rescue mode indicates there is a chance to save a life. ii. Generally, Recovery Mode is turned over to Law Enforcement. Recovery mode indicates there is no chance to save a life. b. Fire Rescue personnel shall take the following into account when determining to operate in Rescue Mode: i. If the victim is above or below the surface. ii. The time since the victim was last seen. iii. The swimming abilities of Fire Rescue personnel on scene. iv. The sufficiency and credibility of bystander information. v. The water conditions (weather, surf and current). vi. Other incident hazards and factors. c. Rescue Mode is intended for surface water victims but may be applied to underwater victims in calm, shallow waters. d. When the decision is made to conduct a rescue operation there should be a minimum of an Incident Commander and three (3) other Fire Rescue personnel who possess the level of operational capability required to extract the victim. e. When immediate action may prevent the imminent loss of life, then a swimmer may be deployed so long as a minimum of three (3) Fire Rescue personnel are on-scene. f. Recovery Mode refer to SOG 330-03 Dive Rescue. 6. Scene Size-up a. First arriving units shall gather all pertinent information from bystanders and witnesses. b. Victims ABOVE the Water: i. Obtain sufficient information on the number of victims and consider requesting additional resources. c. Victims BELOW the Water: i. Companies should establish a “Last-Seen-Point” to prioritize rescue efforts and better narrow the search area probability. 1. Interview witness(es) and have them identify the exact perceived location where the victim(s) went under water. 2. Whenever possible, witnesses should be interviewed separately to avoid one witness leading another. 3. Witness(es) should be taken to the place they think they were located when they witnessed the incident, and that location should be marked. SOG 330-02 Water Rescue Page 3 of 6  4. Identify landmarks on the opposite side of the water (if possible) to aide in identifying a Last-Seen-Point. 5. When possible direct a swimmer to swim out to the Last-Seen-Point and mark the location with a pelican float. ii. Obtain the following victim information: a. Number of victims b. Clothing colors c. Age d. Swimming abilities e. Time the victim was last seen d. Safety Considerations i. While operating in a navigable waterway, there shall be a dive flag deployed to warn vessels away from the area of operations. ii. While operating at night, there shall be sufficient lighting on the shore and diver to warn vessels away from the area of operations. iii. A work area shall be established. The work area shall be limited to personnel directly involved in the water rescue operation. The work area may be secured with Fire Rescue personnel, Law Enforcement, or the use of highly visible tape. iv. All personnel on scene who enter the work area shall be considered Shore Support personnel. v. A point of entry and exit should be established for swimmers to safely enter and exit the water. Ladders or ropes should be utilized when necessary to provide a means of assistance to swimmers entering and exiting the water. vi. When possible a quick review of hand signals should be done prior to deployment of a swimmer. e. Additional Resources i. Additional resources should be deployed to provide a minimum of: 1. One (1) Primary Swimmer per victim (minimum, consider additional) 2. One (1) Back-up Swimmer per Primary Swimmer 3. One (1) Spotter per Primary Swimmer 4. Medical 5. Incident Safety Officer 6. Transport unit(s) 7. Open Water Rescue a. During open water rescues, swimmers shall not execute a below the surface dive in an attempt to locate a submerged victim, unless the victim submersion is directly witnessed by Fire Rescue personnel. Going below the surface in an unwitnessed open water rescue is considered a dive operation; refer to SOG 330-03 Dive Rescue. b. Initiating a rescue operation requires a Primary and Back-up swimmer both with the same open water swimming capabilities and outfitted with appropriate equipment. c. The following action plan should be used on all water rescue operations, as listed below, in order from low to high risk: i. TALK – assist the victim with self-rescue if water conditions permit and verbal communication is possible. SOG 330-02 Water Rescue Page 4 of 6  ii. REACH – use a rescue buoy (Red Flotation Device), pike pole, or other object to pull the victim from the water. iii. THROW – attempt to throw a rope, rescue buoy (Red Flotation Device) or PFD. iv. ROW – determine early if a boat based operation is required and request through the Communication Center. v. GO – deploy swimmer in water. In Open Water Rescues, swimmers should use a water rescue paddle board to make a surface rescue of victim(s). 1. Phase one is to stabilize the victim(s) in the water by providing buoyancy with the water rescue paddle board, the rescue buoy (Red Flotation Device), or a PFD. 2. Phase two is extraction to safety (i.e., boat, jet ski, shore, etc…). Extraction to the shore shall require one (1) swimmer per victim (minimum, consider additional). vi. HELO – helicopter operations may be requested by the Incident Commander to the Communication Center. The Communication Center shall contact Law Enforcement or the Coast Guard for their assessment and execution. 8. Hand Signals a. A rescue buoy (Red Flotation Device) should be used by a Spotter to increase visibility for the swimmer. b. A Spotter shall be assigned when swimmers are in the water and is responsible for: i. Maintaining visual sight of the victims and swimmers ii. Confirming the area of probability with the swimmer iii. Confirming hand signals c. Swimmer to Shore: i. One arm bent with hand on head I’m Okay ii. One arm straight overhead Assistance Needed iii. One arm waving overhead HELP, DEPLOY BACK-UP SWIMMER! iv. Two arms crossed overhead Victim Submerged d. Shore to Swimmer: i. One arm (left or right) extended Move to that Direction ii. Both arms extended out to sides Remain Stationary iii. One arm straight overhead Come Towards Shore iv. Both arms overhead vertically Go Away from Shore 9. Vehicles or vessels in the Water a. Swimmers should not approach a submerged vehicle or vessel in a moving body of water, the likelihood of being trapped or pinned is greatly increased. Request a Dive Team in these incidents. b. When searching a vehicle or vessel in still water, swimmers shall not make full body entry inside to conduct the search. 10. Boat Operations a. When boat operations are utilized, a person with a radio shall be assigned to the boat specifically for the purpose of communicating with the shore operation. b. When available, a GPS device should be used to establish a fixed geographical point. SOG 330-02 Water Rescue Page 5 of 6  11. Post incident a. Decontamination and contaminant reduction shall be established in accordance with Fire Rescue SOGs. b. An After Action Review should take place in accordance with SOG 430-01 After Action Review. Supersession History 1. SOG 330-02, issued 05/21/2018 2. SOG 330-02,clerical 6/18/2018 SOG 330-02 Water Rescue Page 6 of 6