Understand the safe way of PSD ice diving / rescue
Surface Ice rescue suits
The ice drowning season is just upon us. Now is the time for Fire Fighters, First Responders, Dive Teams, and Law Enforcement to experience The New Wave of Public Safety Ice Diving, and for the public to learn what they should and should not do if someone falls through.
Drowning is the 2nd most common cause of accidental death to children in the U.S. and 3rd for adults. About half of these occur in cold water. Ice drowning victims have the highest chance of survival if quickly recovered and properly handled. Public safety ice diving requires procedures that result in rapid recoveries while keeping team members safe.
Sadly, as seen regularly on the internet and in media reports, most public safety dive teams are trained with, and continue to use, sport ice diving procedures that involve thick ice. This is despite the fact that if a dog, child or adult falls through the ice, the ice is thin and unsupportive. Dive team personnel cannot walk, crawl, stand, or kneel on that ice. They cannot sit on pallets or chairs, cut stars in the snow, and fix free flowing regulators in warm water buckets during real calls, hence dive teams should not be taught to do so in training programs.
It is now time to look at real world training for real world ice operations so that more victims can be saved and more rescuers can go home at the end of the day.
The attached video shows scenes of the first of three levels of Lifeguard Systems public safety ice diving programs. No other company provides this revolutionary training for realistic ice conditions.
Lifeguard Systems has been teaching public safety diving and water rescue for over 35 years in over 15 countries with the highest standards in the industry. Our mission is to make sure that all rescuers go home when the job is done.
If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Butch Hendrick, please call (845) 657-5544 or e-mail us atlgs@teamlgs.com
