This information box about the author only appears if the author has biographical information. Otherwise there is not author box shown. Follow YOOtheme on Twitter or read the blog.
Rescue 3 becomes the National Standard adopted by the Swiss Fire Department.
Around the table are the president of Rescue 3 Europe Jonhatan Gorman, the director of the Swiss Federation of Firefighters Robert Schmidl, the head of training Jean Philippe Croset, Serg. Magg Nicholas Millot in charge of VVF training in Geneva and David Alemanni director of SAFE – European River and Alluvial Rescue School and responsible for Rescue 3 for Switzerland.
The Fluvial and Alluvial Rescue Training of the Rovereto Fire Department took place May-27 to May 31st 2018. The objective that the Commander Luca Minatti had set himself, was reached: 9 police officers were selected to access the training and all 9 achieved certification for Rescue 3 River and Alluvial Rescue Technicians 3.
The training took place over 4 very intense days, started in Adige, continued in Val di Sole on the Noce and ended on the Dora Baltea, in the upper Valle d’Aosta, so as to be able to operate on 3 different types of rivers.
Responding to relief in the river and in the flood environment is extremely risky.
“Being a River Relief technician does not mean being a river superhero,” explains David Alemanni, director of the S.A.F.E.® River Rescue School. “It is necessary to be competent and know how to choose the best option to intervene so that the rescuers remain the solution to the problem and do not risk becoming part of it.”. It was a great satisfaction to be able to work with competent, motivated, humble people, with great passion for their work
Rescue Work concerning vehicles immersed in canals and rivers (RWV) , especially during floods, is more frequent than one might think.
The reasons for a vehicle to end up in the water often differ. Sometimes the urgency to reach a place at all costs during a storm, ignoring the signs and warnings of civil protection, too much confidence in one’s own medium, the lack of awareness of the risks involved in having water at all height of the doors. Sometimes it is a case of suicide.
Regardless of the causes, rescue work on vehicles immersed in the water is a very high risk type of rescue. There are many variables to evaluate. The weight of the car, the shape, its position with respect to the current vector, the speed of the current, the density of the water, the consistency of the terrain, obstacles and more.
Rescue 3 offers the RWV patent, a specific river rescue workshop for the rescue of vehicles immersed in rivers or canals. It consists of a first theoretical introduction and then follows the practice. The topics covered start from the evaluation of the rescue scene, the stabilization of the vehicle, the management of the windows, how to create the intervention space, the various access modes, the description of the unsafe person. This is a very high risk and very specialized training. The organization and preparation must be perfect, with attention to the smallest details (Permits, trained staff, adequate means, impeccable equipment, choice of location and much more).
Here are some examples of workshops organized by SAFE – Europe River and Alluvial Rescue for the Fire Brigade, the military and other rescue professions.
This Rescue3 course is designed to assist you in meeting the operations level as a First Responder for water incidents. The two-day course has one day of classroom and one day of practical field exercise. Students are trained in hazard recognition, equipment use and techniques necessary to conduct basic shore and boat based rescue.
