Swiftwater Rescue Technician

1. Train safely

The span of control throughout the Swiftwater Rescue Technician course is an industry leading 7:1 (trainees to instructors). We’ll conduct training with maximum learning while minimizing actual risk. Your personnel will pick up on good risk management practices to carry into your in-house training—and onto your calls.

2. Learn from river pros

Our instructors have all 3 of these qualifications:

• Years of whitewater guiding and paddling experience
• Education/instructional background
• Rescue expertise

Nobody becomes a BRR instructor without hundreds of hours of river time. Your team will learn and pick up good habits from true river professionals.

3. Your ongoing training plan is included

Along with the course, you get written lesson plans (including safety plans) for 6 river practice modules and 6 dry land sessions to use for in-house training throughout the year, to help ensure your success. We’ll customize the training plans for your agency.

Learning Outcomes

• Build your team members’ knowledge of the river environment to avoid hazards and work with the water, not against it
• Responders gain competence through hands-on practice with swimming, wading, and throwing ropes to move confidently around the river
• Your group will become proficient with techniques for self-rescues and ‘go’ rescues through repeated rounds of practice drills
• Prepare your agency for emergencies and build good judgement through realistic scenarios
• Benefit from customized learning for your group—delivered by professional and dynamic instructors who deliver effective training

Topics Covered

Knowledge

• General concepts of swiftwater rescue
• Personal protective equipment
• Technical rescue gear
• River safety, team management, and the Incident Command System
• River signals and communications
• River features, hydrology, hazard identification and water-reading
• Related medical topics: drowning and hypothermia
• Awareness topics: identifying hazards and the need for additional training for swiftwater rescue applications of helicopters and scuba

Basic skills

• Swimming in moving water: self-rescue and whitewater maneuvers
• Throw ropes
• Contact rescues
• Quick release safety harness and ‘live bait’ rescue
• Rescue of panicked subjects
• Shallow water crossings
• Knots, anchors, and basic tensioning systems
• ‘Strainer’ swim

Advanced skills

• Advanced anchors and compound mechanical advantage systems
• Supervised swim in a hydraulic (hole)—if a site is available, if not: dry-land
• Rescue techniques for rescue from hydraulics (holes)
• Advanced swimming, throwing, and ‘live bait’ rescues

Rescue problems & scenarios

• Line-crossings
• Transportation systems
• Foot and body entrapment
• Boat pins and wraps
• Subject-rescue simulations (locate, access, stabilize, transport, containment and scene management)

Elective topics – depending on course length and your agency’s needs

• Low head dam rescue
• Canal rescue
• Vehicles in moving water
• Boat handling (paddle and motor)
• Prolonged simulations combining swiftwater with other technical rescue disciplines (example: swiftwater + slope work + medical)

Pre-course prep

Pre-course prep is optional. It is up to the course organizer if you’d like to include this as part of this course.

If you choose pre-course prep, we’ll send each participant a link to our online learning platform once they’re registered. Here they can access the Preparation Guide with full instructions and resources. Budget 4 – 6 hours to complete the work online.

By learning the pre-course material first, we can spend more course time practicing where it matters: on and around the river.

Attendance is mandatory

Attendance for 100% of class time is mandatory. Students who miss a section of the course without pre-approval may be asked to leave the course.

Assessment and evaluation for certification

One of the most valuable aspects of Boreal River Rescue – Swiftwater Rescue Technician (SRT) certification is that it includes a practical evaluation. This proves that an individual holding the certification has demonstrated competency with their river rescue skills and not simply attended a workshop.

The assessment takes place on the river in a supportive and professional environment with the goals of evaluation, review, and continued learning. Students will get multiple chances to demonstrate competency with their skills.

To achieve the SRT certification students need to:

• Attend all sessions and participate throughout the course
• Demonstrate an understanding of river safety and river rescue concepts
• Pass the practical evaluation on the last day.

Certification is valid for 3 years from the date of issue.

Recertification and skill maintenance

Those holding current Swiftwater Rescue Technician (SRT) certification can recertify through a 2-day SRT-Recert course.

There is a pre-course review component that students must complete by the start of the Recert course.

Another option for organizations seeking more frequent refreshers is an annual 1-day recertification.

Customized training

While this course has a standardized curriculum, we’ll work with you to customize the training and delivery according to your group’s needs. Instructors choose training sites and design practice drills that are relevant to the nature of your rescue calls and available resources.

Contact us to get information on group training, to learn about customizing courses and combining swiftwater rescue courses with other training.