SUMMIT COUNTY SPECIAL OPERATIONS RESCUE TEAM WATER RESCUE BRANCH SOG Last Revision: NOV 07, 2007 1 SUMMIT COUNTY SPECIAL OPERATIONS RESCUE TEAM WATER RESCUE BRANCH SOG I. INTRODUCTION A. To provide an organized, well trained, experienced water rescue team for response to water-related incidents within Summit County. Shall provide rescue in the disciplines as described in the NFPA 1670 and 1006 Standards. B. The Summit County Special Operations Rescue Team Water Branch shall be responsible for the rescue of persons involved in water-related events and the recovery of drowning victims. C. The SCSORT Water will not be used for salvage-only operations. Calls, which are strictly salvage in nature, will be handled by the local department having jurisdiction utilizing mutual aid. Individual dive team departments may elect to attend a salvage operation based on training merit. II. TEAM RESPONSE A. At the Incident Commanders request for the SORT Water Rescue Branch, the local dispatcher will notify all water rescue branch departments in the zone requested. A staging area shall be established and this location shall be given to the responding departments. B. Water Rescue Branch departments that receive requests for the county team should dispatch their own members according to their protocols. C. Members should assemble at their own departments as much as possible and respond with their equipment to the assigned staging area. D. Arriving members should check in with the Water Rescue Staging Officer, then return to the staging area until assigned to a task. E. There shall be three zones designated to evenly distribute rescuers. Their designations are to be North, Akron, and South. 1. The “North Zone” is currently comprised of Water Rescue Teams from the community FD’s of Bath, Cuyahoga Falls, Macedonia, Twinsburg, Stow, and Tallmadge Fire Departments. 2. The “Akron Zone” is comprised of The Akron Fire Department. 3. The “South Zone” is currently comprised of Water Rescue Teams from the community FD’s of Coventry, New Franklin Twp, and Green Fire Departments. 4. If a call originates in a community within the North Zone, the first page will be to the North Zone, the second page will be to Akron, and if necessary, a third page will be make to the South Zone. 2 5. If a call originates in a community within the South Zone, the first page will be to the South Zone, the second page will be to Akron, and if necessary, a third page will be made to the North Zone. 6. If a call originates in Akron, the Akron Incident Commander will determine which Zone is closest to the area of Akron in which the call originated and the second page, if required, will be made to that Zone. If necessary, a third page will be initiated to the remaining Zone, depending on the nature of the response, the manpower needed, and/or the equipment required to mitigate the emergency. 7. Requests for individual items of Water Response equipment such as boats, sonar equipment, etc will be a “Special Call”. F. Water Branch Technical Assistance Team (TAT) Requests Activation of Water Branch TAT will proceed through SORT Dispatch. Dispatch shall notify the Director of Operations, the Water Branch Director(s) of the Team, and the Water Branch TAT members using ALPHIE paging. One of these individuals will make a consultation return phone call to the IC to determine the nature of the situation and the best method the Water Rescue Branch can assist with. The individual making contact will either: (1) Provide the needed information over the phone, (2) activate the Zone TAT through SORT Dispatch, or (3) advise the IC to activate a Zone Water Rescue call up. Water Rescue Branch Technical Assistance Team Members Lt. John Carney Director, Water Rescue Branch Lt. Tom Peddle Director, Water Rescue Branch Lt. Fred Jackson Cuyahoga Falls Fire Dept. Lt Doug Cincurak Green Fire Dept. Lt. Chris Miller Stow Fire Dept. III. SCENE CONTROL A. Upon Arrival at the scene, a senior member should assume the role of Water Task Force Leader if one has not already been designated. The assigned Leader shall determine the feasibility of water operations based on water conditions, weather, personnel, water speed, depth, daylight, etc. B. All witnesses should immediately be located and interviewed. Interviews should be done privately to avoid a "consensus story". C. The risk/benefit should be analyzed and the type of operation determined: 1. Rescue mode- shall be used when there is a chance life may be saved. Generally one and one-half hour elapsed time maximum from last time seen. Planning must be rapid. Rescuers should be in the water quickly. 2. Recovery mode- Shall be used when saving human life is not involved, i.e., body has been in the water over one and one-half hour. Planning and operations should be slower and more elaborate. 3 3. Salvage Mode- Shall be used when recovering articles, vehicles, etc. Follows the same guidelines as recovery mode. D. The scene should be secured and the operations area roped off. All persons in the roped off area must be authorized by the Water Task Force Leader. E. An appropriate entry/exit point should be determined and water conditions assessed. F. Once all the necessary information is collected, a dive plan with distinct goals and objectives should be formed. A pre-dive briefing should be given to all members prior to the any diver entering the water. G. Once again, a rescue mode dive must take place very quickly so some of these steps may be abbreviated. HOWEVER, remember that the safety of the dive team is most important and no entry should be made until it can be done safely. IV. EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL A. All responding SCSORT members shall report to Water Rescue Staging (STAG) for assignment, and return to staging as you complete your assignment so you can be reassigned if needed. All members reporting to staging, as divers shall meet all the requirements as outlined in this SOG Appendix B. B. SCSORT recommends that all equipment brought by responding members be packaged and used according to this S.O.G. See Standard Equipment List - Appendix C. V. OPERATIONS A. Prior to beginning a dive operation, the water rescue branch, in recovery mode, shall have on site a dedicated ALS unit appropriately staffed with at least one EMT-A and one Paramedic. In rescue mode the ALS unit shall be enroute. B. Any member of the water branch who will don equipment to enter the water will be required to have a pre-dive physical. The pre-dive physical may be abbreviated during the initial rescue response. The following will be recorded on the physical log sheet; 1. Baseline vitals to include blood pressure, pulse, and respirations, when conditions warrant, include body weight. Any out of range vital signs may disqualify a diver from entry. This will be at the discretion of the Water Task Force Leader. 2. Documentation of level of consciousness. 3. Current medical history or medications. 4. Any history of alcohol ingestion in the past 24 hours. 5. Rapid Field Neurological Exam 6. An abbreviated exam, in Rescue Mode, may consist of oral history only. i.e. LOC, Recent Illness, Injury, or Medication. Any alcohol ingestion. Any problems incompatible with equalizing. This may all be accomplished as the diver is dressing. 4 C. If no abnormalities are found and the diver feels good, he/she will then be dive qualified. D. After a diver has doffed diving gear, whether he/she was in the water or not, the diver shall have a post dive physical to determine any change in condition. The following will be recorded; 1. Vital signs shall be recorded with differences from baseline noted. 2. Any injuries or illnesses occurring during the dive. 3. Repeat documentation of level of consciousness. 4. Repeat Rapid Field Neurological Exam and document any changes. E. After completion of the post-dive physical, divers will be sent to the rehabilitation area for rest and adequate re-hydration. Divers will be required to remain in rehabilitation until vitals return to within 10% of baseline levels. F. Team Member Emergency Medical Treatment 1. If any team member is injured or needs medical treatment, he/she shall use his/her preferred physician or hospital when possible. 2. Emergencies will be transported to the nearest appropriate medical facility. 3. Any member who is injured or becomes ill during a dive incident must report to the Water Task Force Leader or Water Assistant Safety Officer immediately and will be treated and transported as necessary. The Water Tack Force Leader must be notified of all injuries and illnesses. G. Diving Operations 1. Dive team members must have a pre-dive physical (if required by the Water Task Force Leader). 2. Divers shall assemble their own gear and perform an initial safety check. 3. Divers shall receive a briefing prior to entering the water at which time they will be given their objective, water conditions, special hazards, and the approximate length and depth of the dive. 4. For each dive, there shall be a primary diver with dive tender and a safety diver with a dive tender. 5. The safety diver shall be at the entry point of the dive in a complete state of readiness including all safety and communications checks. 6. Prior to the primary diver entering the water, the Dive Tender shall do a final safety check. The Water Safety Officer shall do an overall safety check of the primary and safety divers prior to allowing entry. 7. Divers shall report by communications system any important objects found, changing conditions, and air pressure to the dive tender at regular intervals 8.