10/7/2011· Aquatics Safety
Risk Management: Standard for Technical Rescue
By: Gerald Dworkin
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) establishes standards for the Fire and Rescue industry.
As Originally Published by Aquatics International Magazine, September/October 1998.
By: Gerald Dworkin
Tel: (207) 967-8614
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Properly recognizing and managing suspected spinal injuries caused by head-first entries into the water require high levels of training. Lifeguards and other water rescue personnel must be able to evaluate the signs and symptoms associated with spinal trauma and the manner in which an injury occurs. The rescuer should assume that a spinal injury exists if the forces causing the trauma were sufficient to damage the spine.
When a spinal injury occurs, the rescuer must immediately restrict the victim's spinal motion to prevent further injury. Principles of spinal-motion restriction should include:
Procedural Changes
Training courses for emergency medical services (EMS), first responders and lifeguards have advocated the above principles for the past 20 years. Yet, with the release of the 1995 American Red Cross lifeguard training programs, the Red Cross abandoned these principles and now advocates that spinal immobilization in the water be accomplished by as few as two lifeguards using a rigid board with a commercial head immobilizer and a sub-standard strapping system, and without the use of a cervical extrication collar.
I believe that the procedures advocated by the Red Cross do not meet the standard of care dictated by the EMS community, and that these procedures are not only dangerous, but can actually increase the severity of the injury.
A 1988 study identifies secondary spinal-cord injuries as significant sources of major neurological deficits (Paraplegia, 26:143-150). Improper handling and transportation techniques by pre hospital personnel may be responsible for up to 10 percent of these secondary injuries. It's possible that the procedures advocated by the Red Cross could be responsible for an increase in secondary injuries during the rescue phase.
The procedures currently advocated by the Red Cross should be exception, not the standard. I encourage the Red Cross to modify its position as follows:
Better Training and Equipment.
The American Red Cross rationalizes that it has excluded instruction on the use of cervical collars because (a) many facilities don't have collars of different sizes; (b) lack of in-service training results in degradation of skills; and (c) lack of available staff results in backboarding being a two-person task.
This rationale should not be an excuse to eliminate the instruction and use of established safety procedures. A complete set of six collars costs approximately $72, a small price to pay when considering the true value of the collars. Additionally, the Red Cross should call for an increase in the education and training of lifeguards through formal programs and in-service training.
The advances in pre hospital equipment, education and training have reduced the number and severity of spinal cord injuries. Only through the availability of appropriate spinal immobilization equipment and the effective training of lifeguard and other rescue personnel can we continue to reduce the number and severity of water-related spinal cord injuries.
Gerald Dworkin, is a professional aquatics safety and water rescue consultant for Lifesaving Resources Inc. and is responsible for aquatics safety, lifeguard, water rescue, and ice rescue training curricula and programs. He also consults as an expert in drowning and aquatic injury litigation. He is a graduate from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, and has over 30 years professional experience in the fire, EMS, and water rescue sector. He is currently a firefighter/EMT for the Harrisville (NH) Fire and Rescue Department.
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10/7/2011· Aquatics Safety
Risk Management: Standard for Technical Rescue
By: Gerald Dworkin
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) establishes standards for the Fire and Rescue industry.
11/14/2013· Aquatics Safety
Firefighter Survival in the Water
By: Gerald Dworkin
In the event a firefighter is suddenly and unexpectedly immersed in deep water while wearing full turnout gear, the firefighter's survival is dependent upon the actions taken during the first critical seconds of the immersion. The incidence of this type of emergency increases when firefighters are fighting apartment fires around a swimming pool, during suppression activities on and around piers and docks, as well as during a fall-through incident in which the firefighter falls through a floor into a basement filled with water.
9/16/2014· Aquatics Safety
Cold Calls: Ice Rescues Pose Unique Challenges For Responders
By: Gerald Dworkin
The following incidents and places, as well as the circumstances surrounding them, are fictional. On the Scene Dispatch at 16:04 hrs: KGT-597 to Rescue 15, respond to Bakersville Pond off Cemetery Island for a report of a dog through the ice, approximately 100 yards from shore.