Two lifeguards of the German DLRG patrolling bathing area of a lake on stand-up paddling boards

Surface water rescue is defined as the

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

of a person who is afloat on the surface of a body of water. Within

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, any significant sized body of water, whether in mid-summer or winter, is considered cold water. Although multiple agencies respond to such rescues, including

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

fire department A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organi ...

, and

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services, pre-hospital care or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to d ...

, their functions, responsibilities, and level of training for such a technical rescue are quite different. As such, a best-practice will identify and adopt industry standards that include specific training and equipment. This supports the opinion that any individual entering the water for the purpose of rescue should be trained to the level of a

Rescue Technician Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipment nece ...

.Dictionary
/ref> Personnel directly involved with support should be qualified to a minimum of an operations level while everyone else working in and around the scene should hold a minimum of an awareness qualification. As with any rescue discipline, the knowledge and skill required to perform a rescue is not neatly packaged. For example, while performing a surface water rescue, a rescue team may utilize many skills that include search techniques, rope-work and rigging, emergency patient care, and a functional knowledge of confined space, swift-water, and dive recovery. Therefore, an effective rescue team will be trained with multiple technical disciplines. In Canada, the standard for professional rescue is the

National Fire Protection Association The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a U.S.-based international nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property damage, and economic loss due to fire, electrical, and related hazards. , the NFPA claims to have 5 ...

(NFPA 1006). This standard is used by the fire service and other professional public service rescue agencies. Access-Rescue Canada delivers NFPA compliant instructor-training programs to these public service agencies.

Notes

Rescue Search and rescue {{Emergency-services-stub

See also

Notes