Don't let a Water Playground be the thing to let you down!
By Gerard Ryan, Cork City Fire Service.
The dangers of water rescue through the eyes of a person who as a teenager himself jumped into the river Lee at the rear of the former Lee baths on balmy summers evenings!
Today I manage the rescue of the people from the same river. As a teenager, I was blissfully unaware of the dangers and never even contemplated the term water hydrology. As I embarked on my career as a young firefighter 27 years ago, I never thought for one moment the dangers that lurked under the surface of our rivers.
In my early days all that was required for a firefighter to carry out a river rescue was courage, a length of rope around your waist, and off you went. Most rescues were carried out by a firefighter that was a strong swimmer. There were no formal training courses for swift water rescues. You came back to the station in your uniform, soaking to the skin and had a hot shower.
Today, the modern approach to river incidents involve, risk assessments and highly technical qualified rescue technicians kitted out in professional equipment specifically designed for the task which in turn, makes the job of the firefighter safer. I never understood the concept of the eddy lines and areas of safety within the river, until formal training into this very specialized rescue area was introduced and mastered by a modern and diversifying fire and rescue service. In the current global climate, there can be no denying the relevance of technical rescue training. There have been many incidents throughout the world of rescuers with inadequate or no training getting themselves and colleagues into trouble
Rescues for the fire service today are more difficult due to pressures put on teenagers by posting events of jumping off a pier or into a river on Social media. From the ever present camera phone to the person being put under pressure to jump into the river having seen somebody else do it on a social media post are all current pressures for teenagers. Real courage is the ability to say no and walk away. Alcohol and substance abuse cloud the judgment of the people entering the water something I can’t remember being so readily available as a teenager growing up.
Teenagers don’t have the insight into the vast changes that can occur to the river over a few months. Water release from the dam up to rates of 150 cubic meters a second for long periods & changes the dynamics of the river. Anti social behavior can end up with all sorts of debris hidden under the surface of the water ranging from shopping trollies to abandoned motorcycles.
As a fire officer responding to river incidents, I would plead to all involved not to enter the river or sea to perform a rescue unless you are trained to do so. Contact the emergency services on 999 and try all means of rescue from the riverbank utilizing the rescue equipment available.
As a parent of teenagers, I would also ask parents to communicate the dangers of entering unsupervised areas for swimming to their children. I have had the harrowing task of both seeing and explaining the devastating consequences of swimming in inappropriate areas to parents.
Please think water safety.
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