SAFETY, TRAINING & CERTIFICATION
Public-Access Water Rescue System Developed by Reach and Rescue is Successfully Used in a Real-Life Rescue
Reach and Rescue are thrilled to report that one of their Portsafe public-access water rescue systems installed in a high-risk public water area in Bedfordshire has been successfully used by a police officer to rescue a member of the public from drowning in the River Great Ouse in Bedford.
Portsafe provides emergency services and members of the public a crucial opportunity to conduct swift and directionally-accurate rescues by giving them permanent access to effective rescue equipment that is designed to retrieve casualties in the water from safe distances. The system therefore minimises the danger posed to the rescuer whilst also boosting casualty survival chances.
Developed in response to repeated reports of vandalism with existing water rescue systems, Portsafe securely houses a long-reach telescopic rescue pole and an emergency throwline inside vandal-proof lockable boxes that are accessible via a code granted by quoting the Portsafe’s location number to the emergency services.
“On the 3rd June 2019 Police were made aware of a person in the river, at The Embankment, Bedford. The individual was some way out in the river,” says Nick Lyall, Superintendent Head of Operations at Bedfordshire Police. “The officer attending noticed the rescue pole, and immediately requested the pin number. The officer hadn’t been trained to use the pole but it was easy to use. The pole was used to reach the person in the river and bring them to the safety of the bank where they received the medical care they required. The rescue pole was used to safely rescue a member of the public without the person using it needing any prior training. From my perspective, a life saving device.”
With numerous incidents of accidental drowning occurring in Bedfordshire in recent years, local emergency services knew action needed to be taken to prevent further loss of life. The installation of multiple Portsafes in locations noted as having a high-risk of accidental drowning is the result of a successful collaborative drive spearheaded by Reach and Rescue together with local emergency services including Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
“We were challenged by our colleagues at Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service to overcome a specific list of limitations with current rescue solutions such as lifebuoys,” states Jo Taylor, Director of Reach and Rescue. “By developing rescue equipment that is tamperproof, quick to deploy and easy to use whilst keeping a rescuer’s feet on dry land, any person in trouble in the water now has the greatest chance of being rescued.”
David Lynch, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Community Safety Officer, said: “This rescue equipment enables people to help save someone in trouble in the water without putting themselves at risk.”
With reports of serious water related incidents gradually increasing year-on-year in the UK, the strategy moving forward is to dramatically improve the standard of public-access water safety equipment across the country. As a result, Reach and Rescue are collaborating extensively with emergency services nationwide, and partnering with leading water safety charities to urgently make this vision a fully-fledged reality.
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www.dockyard-mag.com September 2019
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