Assist the rescue of people at risk: Water survival guidance

If a call is received about a person in the water, it may be suitable to provide advice to the caller about how to assist somebody in the water. Where advice is given to a member of public to assist, it is important any action does not endanger themselves, and they should be advised to follow the instructions as detailed in control measure – Protect people at risk: water survival guidance.

In some areas secure throwline boxes have been installed near water courses, such as rivers and lakes. These boxes are mounted on a sign which provides instructions on how to access and use the throwlines. A code is required to access these boxes, some of which are stored by fire and rescue services. If the code is stored by fire and rescue services, the instructions will inform people to dial 999 and request the fire and rescue service. On receipt of a call, fire control personnel will be required to pass the access code to the caller.

Where throwlines are located, people should be advised to use the following method:

• Gain the attention of the person in the water and advise them you are throwing them the line
• Loosen or unclip the bag so the top of the bag is open
• Pull out about an arm’s length of the line from the bag
• Take hold of the plastic sleeve of the bag with your throwing hand
• Throw the line towards the casualty while holding the tail end of the line in your other hand. Aim to get the line to land across the casualty’s body
• Place themselves 1m to 2m from the edge of the water if possible and to get on one knee or lay on the ground prior to tension being applied to the line

If a call is received about a person at risk in coastal waters, it is essential that the MCA are informed to ensure that they can make an appropriate response.

In addition to the four phases that may be used for all search and rescue incidents as detailed in control measure – assist the rescue of people at risk, water rescue incidents also follow the Talk – Reach – Throw – Row – Go – Don’t go – Helicopter principles. Fire control personnel should use these principles when providing advice to callers who may be able to assist people at risk.

Talk/Shout: People may be able to self-extricate or reach a position where they can remain until they can be rescued. This could include moving closer to solid ground or another location from where they may be more easily rescued. People who are not in the water may have a better view than people in the water and be able to direct them.

Reach: It may be possible to use an object to make physical contact with people and pull them towards safety or a location where they can remain until they can be rescued. This may be a tool designed specifically for the purpose or a found object, such as a tree branch. If possible, people should place themselves 1m to 2m from the edge of the water and get on one knee or lay on the ground to prevent them from falling into the water. People should not offer their own hand to people in the water, as this may lead to them being pulled into the water.

Throw: It may be possible to use specially designed water rescue equipment, such as throwlines or buoyant objects. These objects may be able to aid people on solid ground to pull the person in the water to a safe location or a place where they can remain until rescued. Buoyant objects may be used to assist people in floating until they can be rescued.

Row:  Committing trained personnel on to the water in rescue boats, sleds, or similar craft. Fire control personnel should advise members of the public not to attempt rescue from a boat unless the boat is stable and there are competent people in control of the boat.

Go: Committing trained personnel into the water to perform a rescue. Fire control personnel should advise members of the public not to enter the water to rescue people.

Don’t go: If it is deemed unsafe to perform a rescue, people should not enter the water. Members of the public should always be advised not to enter the water.

Helicopter: Helicopters for search and rescue, for more information refer to Search, rescue and casualty care – Aerial resources.

If necessary, people should await rescue in areas of water where they can remain static, such as shallow or slow flowing areas.

The following information should be gathered by fire control personnel. This information should be used to aid dynamic mobilising decisions and shared with operational personnel and where relevant, other responding agencies to assist the rescue of people at risk:

• Location of all people in the water, for example how far are they from solid ground
• Description of people in the water and clothing they are wearing
• Whether the person in the water has a flotation aid, such as:
  • A lifejacket
  • A lifebelt
  • A piece of water sports equipment
• Access and egress information, for example:
  • Location of the nearest solid ground
  • If flooding has occurred, any restrictions as a result of this
  • Nearby locations suitable for personnel and resources to enter the water, such as boat launch sites or jetties
• Description of the water:
  • Depth
  • Speed
  • Stability of the water, including if water levels are rising or the speed is increasing
  • Size of the water course, for example the width of a river or flood
• Any additional information on forthcoming weather conditions, river levels or tidal reports

Dynamic mobilising may include additional fire and rescue service resources as well as resources from other responding agencies. There are several other organisations that may have water rescue capabilities; if arrangements have been made, fire control personnel should consider the mobilisation of these resources to assist rescue.

Depending on the location of people at risk and access and egress routes, fire control personnel should consider mobilising resources in a dual approach, for example to both sides of the water source. The fire control room may also need to provide information about routes to avoid using.

Depending on the situation, the following advice to people at risk may prove useful in assisting the rescue:

• If there are multiple people in the water, advise them to remain together if it is possible and safe to do so
• Await instructions from emergency responders and do not attempt to board their boat or any other watercraft until instructed to do so
• If safe to do so, wave both arms and fists to attract the attention of emergency responders
• If available use a torch to attract the attention of emergency responders
• Make a noise to attract the attention of emergency responders; however, once emergency responders are aware of their location, people should remain quiet so that they can hear instructions
• Emergency responders may need to initially move away from people in the water; this is normal and will be part of their rescue plan