Virginia Beach rescue teams save 3 from rip current near rocks at 1st Street Jetty

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. WAVY- On Sunday down at the 1st Street Jetty at Rudee Inlet, crews fought back against fierce rip currents and 15-to-20 mile-per-hour winds. 

Luckily no one was seriously injured, but as it was going on, no one was really sure what would happen. 

Thanks to the Virginia Beach Fire Department we have pictures of the harrowing rescue, where people in the water had to fight against current to stop from washing up on the rocky jetty. 

“There is a permanent rip current, and when you get a northeast wind that is blowing 15-20 like it did Sunday, and with surf that was three to five foot going straight against the rocks, that rip is moving as fast as you can see it. You are not going to get past it,” said Tom Gill, chief of the Virginia Beach Life Saving Service.

Two adults, a man and woman, were taken to hospital for evaluation and a child was unharmed and released to family.  

“These folks wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time and our guards were going down to talk to them, and within seconds they were swept out and everybody jumped into action.” 

Drone video from the fire department shows the waves crashing on the jetty, with swimmers dangerously close to a rocky landing. 

It was a jet ski-involved rescue that ironically had just been trained for last week. The training was going on behind Master Firefighter Sean Millard as WAVY interviewed him on Croatan Beach. 

“Stick time, get behind the skis see how they operate in different conditions, and riding scenarios on the back of the sled as compared to riding tandem,” he said.

Gill added: “The pictures don’t bring the sound of the wind, and the inability to communicate when you are next to each other, and the waves are crashing over your head.” 

10 on Your Side salutes those who helped in this rescue operation: the eight resort lifeguards, three fire-rescue swimmers, Fireboat 12 and Jet Ski 12.

Gill gives credit where credit is due.

“The real big thing was the Fire Boat 12 and Ski 12 stationed right here in the inlet. They were there immediately.” 

The current rescue training is so appropriate for rip currents, wind and rocky jetties.

“Today, our final scenario is a victim into the rocks, every third day we train on it, and it happened last Sunday, so it paid off so its fresh in everyone’s mind. Everyone was on the same page during the Sunday event.”

Shared from 10 on you side wavy.com 

Santa Cruz County crews hop on jet skis to rescue stranded homeowners

Crews in Santa Cruz County hop on jet skis to rescue stranded homeowners on the San Lorenzo River in Felton Grove.

Rescue Watercraft for the Fire Service

 

The fire service is the epitome of adapting to the changing environment and the needs of the community. The leadership of the fire service continues to evaluate and meet the needs to our dynamic environments and response districts. The fire service of 2020 is not what the fire service of 2000 was, nor what it was in the ‘90s, ‘80s, or any previous era.

The public’s interest in the fire department goes much deeper than making sure we can handle any fire incident. We are the all-hazards agency that continues to be tasked with greater responsibility for helping those who live in or visit our communities. Many agencies have taken on more increased roles with the same or even less staffing. The term “emergency services” better defines our agencies today as we do much more the fight fires.

An area that has always received our attention is water-related emergencies. Today, we have more options to address emergencies on or in the water. The hazards in water-related rescues are vast and complicated. Swiftwater, ocean, and lake and pond environments have many different features without considering the environmental impacts.

In 2018, the Coast Guard counted 4,145 accidents that involved 633 deaths, 2,511 injuries, and approximately $46 million dollars of damage to property as a result of recreational boating accidents. These accidents contributed to a fatality rate was of 5.3 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. (1)

Open water is a term that includes natural bodies of water (lakes, rivers, oceans) and man-made bodies of water (canals, reservoirs, and retention ponds). In 2016, open water drownings made up 43 percent of fatal childhood drownings (2).

If your agency has any open water, you must take these statistics seriously, complete a needs assessment, and look for ways to prevent these incidents. Beyond prevention, you must adequately prepare for and respond equipped and trained to rescue those in need.

Read More

Navy SEAL Lessons Learned for Water Rescue Operations

 

It is mid-August 2016, and Louisiana is inundated with a flood of Biblical proportions.  According to press reports, the ceaseless rain has killed at least 13, and forced tens of thousands more from their homes.  More than two feet of rain has fallen over the course of five days, and forecasts show more possibly coming, which can lead to even more flash flooding.  There is basically nowhere for the water to go.

Press reports have also stated that more than 30,000 people have been rescued in the flooding, surely making it one of the country’s largest water rescue operations in history, though I have not seen the statistics to back that claim up.

As a currently-serving member of a municipal water rescue team myself, by way of my city’s paid-professional fire department, that number sounds incredible.  In this author’s head, I envision countless water rescue teams, augmented by many civilians in their own boats, spread across the state of Louisiana, picking people off of submerged cars, the roofs of submerged houses, and possibly even from half-submerged trees.

Read more; SOFREP

5 Steps To A Safe Ice Rescue

 

Proper firefighter training, equipment, technique and awareness can reduce the dangers of ice rescues

In water rescue, there is a universally accepted rescue sequence:

1. Self rescue
2. Reach
3. Throw
4. Row
5. Go

Rescuers should be qualified and trained to perform the task they are preparing to undertake.

ANALYZE THE ICE RESCUE ENVIRONMENT

To avoid getting too in-depth about swift water environments, we'll focus on ice rescue on static or slow-moving current. I am a strong proponent of stating that a "go" rescue should never be performed on ice in which the water current is flowing greater than 1 knot without having some extraordinary conditions and precautions in place. 

This would include some very experienced and certified rescue swimmers, standby ice divers, water crafts, down-river rescuers, breach points in the ice and a very savable victim.

When we analyze this scene, we are trying to identify the victim, the victim's condition, any hazards present and the condition of the ice. If we can't locate the victim, we are looking for the hole in the ice, any tracks on the ice surface and any competent witness. 

When assessing the ice, we are primarily evaluating the path that the victim traveled before falling through. This is the most reliable path to the victim because it has already been traveled and supported their weight. All other surfaces are unknown until walked. 

If the ice is unstable and has floating and slushy segments, immediately call for an inflatable platform from which we can launch a rescue. This can be as simple as a rescue sled or swim board or as elaborate as an airboat or hovercraft.

Read More; Fire Rescue 1 by Dalan Zartman

Rescuer Gets Swept Away During Swift Water Rescue in LA

 

A rescuer was swept away in the raging waters of the Los Angeles River Friday.

Video shows others trying to get the first responder out of the rushing water as he was moving rapidly past them.

Sea-Doo - Search and Rescue (SAR) River

 

SEA-DOO SAR, SEARCH AND RESCUE: An easy choice for tough situations.

When you are on a rescue mission, every detail counts. The all-new Sea-Doo SAR, a Search and Rescue watercraft, seamlessly combines the features you need to respond to life threatening situations.

It is designed for breathtaking rescue performances, from surf to whitewater, during a flood or along a rocky coast.

The Sea-Doo SAR watercraft excels in rescue missions but is also ideal for evacuation, surveillance and interception.

The SAR watercraft truly goes the extra mile. Because when lives are hanging in the balance, every detail counts.

Using Personal Watercraft for Water Rescue

Motorized water rescue craft are as diverse as the types of environments they are used in. The old stand-by is the inflatable boat with an outboard engine, but hard-bottom boats as well as fan-driven and jet-propelled watercraft are also used. One that requires a closer look by the fire service is the jet-ski variety. Read More

Kayaker recounts dramatic Eagle River rescue

The Anchorage Fire Department Engineer Corey Roberts finishes making a cut in a sweeper as Paramedic Craig Paulus holds onto the victim during a swiftwater rescue on Eagle River on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 16, 2012. They freed the paddler who was trapped in a kayak that was pinned under a fallen tree by the rain swollen glacial fed river.

It's good to see all the training payoff for Eagle River Fire Department. SAS Water Safety taught several courses for both Eagle Rive and Anchorage FD in the 90's.

Clutching to a paddle that he had somehow jammed into debris beneath the frigid, rushing water, pinned and unable to free himself from his submerged kayak, Steve Rossberg wondered if anyone could hear the distress calls from his police whistle. After 90 minutes in the icy water, body numb, he could feel his will to survive ebbing. Then, with his head barely above water, he thought he saw someone on shore making a cell phone call. “I’ve got to hang on,” he thought. “I’ve got to hang on.”

These were some of the thoughts racing through Rossberg’s mind Sept. 16 after his kayak became lodged in a sweeper along the lower portion of Eagle River. He was experienced on Alaska’s rivers and had good equipment. But as he struggled to remain conscious and keep his focus, he was haunted by a single thought: “I underestimated the river.”

An avid outdoorsman, Rossberg was kayaking a three-mile stretch of Eagle River Sunday afternoon between the Hiland and Glenn Highway bridges. The river is tame in comparison to some of the other rivers he has run. He thought paddling the river alone would be no problem. He was wrong. This year’s high water has brought considerable debris down the river which only weeks ago was responsible for the death of two female canoeists.

At about one quarter mile from his pull out point at the Eagle River Campground, he made a critical error by paddling underneath a tree that was arching over the water. His kayak became stuck under a large log and he ended up pinned.

“There are two critical decisions that were wrong,” Rossberg says. “One was kayaking alone and two was going under that arched tree. It is good to have another person there to help with judging things — to bounce things off of. If I was with my paddle buddy, I probably would not have gone under that tree.”

He tried a number of things to free himself, including cutting himself out of the kayak with a knife, but finally resigned himself to the fact that he was not going to be able to get loose.

“I reached a point where I realized I needed to focus on the task at hand,” he says. “Conserve my energy, keep my head above water, breathe and blow my whistle.”

Initially he could see his kayak — it was about two inches under water. As time ticked on, the water pressure pulled it down and he was soon submerged up to his neck. He was in the water for 90 minutes, bracing himself with his paddle and blowing his whistle and losing strength. Then he saw something on shore. “The image is burned in my head,” Rossberg recalls. “I saw a guy in a blue coat and he was on a white phone making a call.”

A wave of hope washed over him. Maybe help was on the way.

And it was. The caller reached 911 and the dispatcher quickly contacted Eagle River’s Ladder 11, a branch of the Anchorage Fire Department. Responders immediately sprang into action, launched a boat from the campground and in minutes went upstream to the site. By the time they reached Rossberg, hypothermia had set in. They needed to get him out of the water within minutes. The rescue team had to take a chainsaw to the large tree to free him. By the time the responders pulled him out of the water it had been two hours since he had been pinned and his core body temperature had fallen to 90 degrees. He was quickly evacuated to an Anchorage hospital and has since made a full recovery.

Rossberg is a drilling manager for BP Alaska. Humbled by the experience, he recently held a town hall meeting at the company’s Anchorage office to explain the incident to employees and to properly thank the rescue team. He expressed his deep gratitude to the men, more than a dozen in all, who responded and saved his life in perilous conditions.

Following a discussion of the incident by the Ladder 11 team, one of the rescuers, Corey Roberts, said to Rossberg: “I don’t know if you knew at the time how close you were to dying, but I think you do now.”

Rossberg’s message to his co-workers was clear: “Learn from my mistakes.

“Don’t underestimate the risk. Prepare for the worst. Ask yourself do you have the right equipment, are you mentally and physically capable of surviving the worst case scenario?”

Rossberg said the rescuers’ high degree of training, their quick response, his training in the military, his remaining focused at the task at hand, having proper gear (he wore a dry suit with two layers underneath) having a bright green helmet and a two dollar whistle are what saved his life.

When asked if he will go kayaking again, he replied: “The doctor told me I’ve been sidelined for 10 days. When I do go back out, it won’t be alone.”

 Shared from the Alaska Star