Swiftwater Operations Technician I

The ERD Swift Water Ops Course is designed to provide information and hands-on training to students/team members who may be called upon to respond to a swift water call where no water entry is practical or possible. This is defined by NFPA 1006/1670 guidelines as “water moving at a rate greater than 1 knot.”

Any member of an Emergency First Response team who responds to operations in/near swift water found in high hills, mountain areas or in flash flood areas
Any member of an Emergency First Response team who responds to calls in rural and urban environments where water may be moving swiftly
Any member of an Emergency First Response team who would like to further educate themselves on the risks and procedures involved in swift water incidents

Minimum age 18; member of an Emergency First Response team, group or organization
Must be a good swimmer, in good health and comfortable working in the water
CPR, AED, O2, AND First Aid certified or equivalents
What you can expect to learn:
Incident command, pre-planning, standard operating procedures/guidelines
Types of swift water and swift water rescues
Characteristics, water currents, delta p changes, pollutants
Talk, reach, row, throw, go, helo
Types of victims, equipment handling, PFD usage, knot tying and hitching, and utilizing tension systems
The purpose of the ERDI Swift Water Program is to provide the necessary skills and knowledge for performing life saving operations in swift water, and the importance of understanding the dangers of moving water such as strainers and hydraulics.

After successful completion of the ERDI Swift Water Ops program, responders are expected to understand how to recognize the presence of hazardous conditions, protect themselves, secure the area, call for additional resources, activate an emergency plan, assess conditions and attempt a reach or throw rescue
Swift Water – Level 1 Ops minimum requirements:
500 yard continuous swim (no aids), 15 minute survival float
Successfully complete two open water exposures demonstrating ICS, team briefing, PFD donning, throw ropes, knot tying and hitching, team debriefing